Tag Archives: Paper Wasps have taken over birdhouse

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Craig Tooley came to our home in Anchor Bay to photograph the two baby Ospreys in a nest that we can see through our scope. Conditions weren't that good so he will try again. It is wonderful seeing the two tiny heads and necks of the babies. Now the parents are coming and going, bring fish to their hungry offspring.

Craig did photograph the birdhouse that was enveloped by Paper Wasps. I thought you'd enjoy seeing a close up of their exquisite work. The metal roof is untouched and a tiny portion of the white front still shows.

 Below you can see the Paper Wasps coming and going, as they build a nest inside the birdhouse. They covered up at least 90% of the opening to the birdhouse.

Luckily this birdhouse/paper wasp nest is at the bottom of our driveway. Live and let live is the motto here.

If you'd like to see the original post on this rather unique situation, 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/

To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here's the link to his website: http://ruffimage.com/

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Rick and I were coming up our driveway from our afternoon hike with Huckleberry the other day when I looked up at the birdhouse on a Bishop Pine tree about 12 feet off the ground. I said to Rick, "Something has turned the birdhouse around!" On a closer look, the outside of the birdhouse had been papered over in beautiful scallops. The hole had been reduced to a very small opening, where Paper Wasps were coming and going.

The metal roof is untouched and a small amount of the white birdhouse can be seen at the bottom. What a strange sight! The best advice I could find was to leave them alone until the winter, when the males will die off and the female can more easily be removed. They have built a nest inside this small birdhouse, where no birds nested this year.

Paper Wasps have their beneficial role to play in nature so we will just enjoy their artistry - home decorating Paper Wasp-style.

It's a beautiful day here on the Mendonoma Coast and you never know just what you might see!