Cleaning Out the Birdhouse

A few years ago, I salvaged a little birdhouse from a teardown across the street. Every spring, we put it out in the back yard, and watch the birds come to investigate. They fly up to the hole, try to squeeze inside, poke their heads out and look around, and then fly away. Sometimes they fight over the rights to the birdhouse.

Last year, I placed it in the midst of some tall plants, and two small birds decided it was to their liking. They built a nest, laid several eggs, raised their young, and left. We sat in the hammock and watched them nonchalantly land near the birdhouse, look around to make sure the coast was clear, and then go inside.

Now that spring's here, I had fun prying open the birdhouse to empty it out. The nest was a thick bungle of twigs, grass leaves, mud, and feathers wedged tightly into the birdhouse.