Colorful Bird Houses

Although the "moving" bird houses showcased 

in yesterday's blog were cute,

I think the ones in today's blog post are really cute.

See if you agree.

This first photo is actually a jigsaw puzzle, 

but it is so bright and colorful I wanted to include it.

The colors are wildly vivid. I bet cardinals, blue jays, and goldfinches

would be able to come and go practically incognito.

www.lpfpuzzle.com

This is a great idea from the Wordpress blog Living in a Picture.

The homeowners put unpainted bird houses on a tree

at their lake house, and then invite their visitors

to express their creativity and create a memory by adding color::

http://livinginapicture.wordpress.com/2012/07/

Here are some colorful bamboo egg bird houses 

from Gardener's Supply:

www.gardeners.com

And these artistic bird houses 

evoke the charm of late summer days:

www.gardenheights.com

This one, a design by "Rachael's Whimsical Retro Birdhouse Functional"

that I saw on thisnext.com says happy welcome.

I like the way the pink impatiens match the pink on the bird house.

http://www.thisnext.com/item/A97C2178/7F62F2EA/Rachaels-Whimsical-Retro

A large collection of colorful bird houses

would be a pretty addition in any landscape.

I wonder if the birds would agree?

Here's the answer: yes. 

Birds are capable of seeing more colors in the spectrum than humans can.

Here's an interesting article about it from Yale News:

http://news.yale.edu/2011/06/22/birds-eye-view-far-more-colorful-our-own

So paint on!

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Bird Houses that Really Move

Yesterday's blog had a photo of the cutest little

bird house designed to look just like a 1950s style camper.

Here it is again:

I had copied the photo from www.tinyworldblog.com,

but it is on several different internet sites. 

When I went looking for it again today on Google images, 

I found lots of little bird houses in this same style. 

They come in school-bus yellow, black, red, turquoise and red,

olive, peach, and full silver.

Here's an Airstream version complete with a step and propane tanks:

http://boingboing.net/2012/06/16/vintage-trailer-birdhouses.html

If your backyard birds are too groovy for the 1950s, 

there are VW buses for them:

http://www.geekalerts.com/camper-van-birdhouse/

Maybe your birds are really far out, like all the way to space,

so a rocket birdhouse would be more to their liking;

www.rocketdungeon.blogspot.com

For birds who prefer a slower ride, how about a bicycle birdhouse?

www.patbean.wordpress.com

And if your birds want a little history with their food and lodging,

here's a covered wagon bird house: 

www.curiositiesbydickens.com

Tomorrow, some more unusual birdhouses.

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The Carolina Wren

The wren, a second mystery solved...

I've written before about the wrens that frequent our deck 

and small wooded area behind our house.

Last year, I shared the mystery of the bell chime that rang

the same moment I had reached a conclusion after quiet reflection under it.

It hadn't been divine inspiration after all, rather a small wren roosting 

on the frame of the iron clapper  inside.

Every time the wren flew out, the bell would ring--

I just happened to be under it at the right time.

www.dreamstime.com

But recently, another backyard mystery began.

I have a tiny piece of weathered wood

crafted to look like a small bird house. 

Its light blue paint is rough and  faded .

It has a  rusted metal A-line roof and wire bail  for hanging it up.

This summer I put it on the post of the deck gate,

now always open since we got a small exercise pen

around the deck for our pekes.

This isn't my birdhouse, but I saw it online at Tiny House blog 

and thought it was adorable

www.tinyhouseblog.com

But almost every day, I would find the little bird house on the ground.

I'd put it back. The next day it would be on the ground again.

I suspected--who else? Squirrels, those agile tricksters

who are always getting in places they shouldn't.

The day before yesterday, I was sitting in the breakfast room

which overlooks the gate.

Carolina wren

www.allaboutbirds.org

Suddenly a wren flew in with a large worm in its mouth.

It lighted on the peak of the faux bird house's tiny rusted tin roof

and proceeded to bang the worm against the edge of it 

several times before flying off. 

And when the wren and its captive morsel flew off,

so did the tiny bird house.

Mystery solved.

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