Mel Smith and Linda Bostwick must be doubly fortunate, as they had two sets of birds nest in their birdhouse. The first to occupy the box were Chestnut-backed Chickadees. Once their chicks had fledged, Violet-green Swallows took residence and currently have chicks in the birdhouse.
Here's a photo Linda took a few years ago of a Violet-green Swallow with a feather in its beak. A nice soft touch for a nest!
Thanks to Mel and Linda for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
Rick and I were shocked when we noticed the Paper Wasp nest in our birdhouse had been attacked and destroyed. The nest that they attached to the inside ceiling is gone and no wasps are coming and going.
Skunks are predators of Wasps, so we are pretty sure one was the culprit.
To see what the outside of the birdhouse looked like before the Skunk ripped it apart, here's the link:
http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/07/22/the-strangest-thing-one-of-our-birdhouses-was-recently-taken-over-by-paper-wasps/
And here's a photo of the wasps coming and going:
http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/07/28/close-up-photos-of-the-paper-wasp-nest-in-our-birdhouse/
It was a beautiful work of art before the Skunk had its way. I've read to prevent this from happening again, you should tack up aluminum foil on the inside ceiling of the birdhouse. Then the wasps wouldn't be able to attach their nest. Looks like I'll be doing that this winter. I would prefer birds in our birdhouse!
Western Bluebirds are cavity nesters so people can entice them to nest by putting up a birdhouse in the right location. Siegfried and Gretel Matull have done just that as the photo below will attest. Their numbers are declining so any help we can give them is all good. And don't rush to take down a dead tree - that snag can be a nice home to a cavity dwelling bird for many years.
