I hung the weird-looking Creature of the Black Lagoon’s Bird House on a shepherd’s crook in one of Nancy’s Garden beds a couple weeks back. As I described, the house is constructed of moss and clay and looks like it was drained from the swamp. But I hung it anyway. Because of the way the crook was situated, the hole to the nest pointed to the side, not to the front. I wondered if anything would ever go inside.
So did Nancy, so one afternoon while tending to her beds, she peeked in. There was indeed a bird inside, and on the nest, and it panicked when the eyeball peered through the hole. The bird flew out at warp speed, nearly knocking Nancy on the ground. It happened so fast, Nancy said she didn’t know what kind of bird it was, but she was thankful to have both eyes still in working condition.
The next afternoon, we sat a comfortable distance from the Creature of the Black Lagoon bird house and observed.
Sure enough, in about 15 minutes, the inhabitant showed up. It was a little Carolina Wren, and she flew to the hole and hopped on the nest.
Wrens are amazingly versatile in their nest selection. If you leave your garage door up for a short period, a wren will often find a flowerpot and begin building They squeeze into exterior light fixtures and set up housekeeping. They will nest in boots, mailboxes and – yes – weird looking houses from the Black Lagoon.
I asked Nancy to peek in again and check on things, but she said it was my turn.
No thanks. I like my eyes just as they are.