Location, Location, Location

To Let: snug, picturesque birdhouse in quiet neighborhood. Thoughtful, loving landlords,
$20,000 view, and more mosquitoes than you can eat. Inquire within.

It’s happening again this year. A starry-eyed young chickadee couple bustles back and forth, building a new nest in the birdhouse over the garden (see New Tenants) while the other birdhouse, in the wind break in front of the cabin, stands empty. Once or twice, a chickadee has flown up to the unused house, peeked inside, then left.

Enough is enough. Michelle finally decided to move the second birdhouse, which has never been occupied in the four years since she first placed it, to a new location.

Newly relocated birdhouse. The solar panel lines below it should provide good perches (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).

Newly relocated birdhouse. The solar panel lines below it should provide good perches (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).

A week or two ago she remounted the birdhouse by the smokehouse, across the door yard from the cabin. She positioned it for maximum wind protection and moderate sunshine—enough to make it cozy, but hopefully not sweltering.

Now, we wait. Hopefully, we haven’t missed the first nesting rush. If so, there’s generally a second brooding in summer, so we may get some residents then, if not sooner.

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