Friday, May 4, 2012

Our Squatters


You'd think in a wealthy, suburban, college town we wouldn't have this problem. But there it is. A young couple has taken up residence at OUR HOUSE. We've tried tossing their things out, but they keep putting them back...

The quick view, walking by
*sigh *

You wanna know more?

See, about a month and a half ago, I noticed our mailbox was full of leaves and yard debris. I thought one of my son's friends was playing a prank on us—it really seemed that way. I removed all the stuff from the mailbox and tossed if off the side of the porch (admittedly, only about a six inch drop)... It has been back since then. My husband cleared it out. Then I did. Then my husband accused our son of being a prankster, but in spite of Loki-like tendencies, he denied it and we believed him...

Closer: Can you see the little tunnel in there?
Then this week, hubby spots them... BIRDS. These persistent little birds have built a nest in our mailbox and are intent on staying.

Hubby spoke with the mailman who agreed to bundle the mail and put it inside the screen door for the time being. Hubby and son are talking of building a birdhouse and trying to coax them in there instead, because if it's a real house, maybe they will pay some rent like they are suppose to...

Hubby described them--says they are small like a finch, brown, but with a black stripe on the back of their head and two white stripes to either side.  Looking it up, I think it must be a wren--the wren and the wren nest, both fit what I know so far, though so far I haven't seen them...

Wren:  I will have to ask if this is right, but the description fits.


I'm thinking something like this for what they build...

Happy Friday!!!

16 comments:

Old Kitty said...

Oh how adorable!! Now why can't this happen to me?!? (Yes ok there is the Cat but still...! LOL!)!! Awwwww it's a wren - a little jenny wren and she's found a home! Awwww not to worry - after the fledglings leave you can clear the box and hopefully mum will return to the new one you're building next time! Yay! take care
x

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Nice th mailman will work with you. We don't hang anything on our front door because birds like to build nests there.

Creepy Query Girl said...

how strange that they're building their nest so close to your house and in something that's manipulated so often by humans. I would just buy a new mail box and nail that one to a post in the yard. 'voila! An art-deco bird house!'

S.A. Larsenッ said...

It almost amazes me how clever animals can be. That's pretty smart. Plus, they like you, want to 'hang' near you. ;D Just be careful when they have babies. You may have to add on to your house!

jaybird said...

Oh, I'm so loving this post. How sweet you and your family are to accommodate this little Bird's Nest!

Colene Murphy said...

Oh my! That is the cutest thing ever! Those are some hard headed birds! ;) They just love your house.

Megan Bostic said...

It's too bad they aren't quail because I really wanted to say, "You've got quail!" which of course I did anyway.

Nice of your mailman to work with you.

Funny where birds will next. Look for baby birds soon!

Hart Johnson said...

Kitty--yes, we have a cat, but she is indoors only, though I worry a little about the neighborhood stray.

Alex-and you don't want that?

Katie-that was what surprised me, too--that we mess with that and they still want to be that!

SA-HA! Yeah, they're my minion birds!

Jaybird-well is it accomodating, or have we just given up? teehee

Colene-very stubborn! Probably why they are so at home with us!

Megan- *snort* My parents get quail, but they are decidedly not mailbox sized. They sure are cute, though.

Johanna Garth said...

We had squatters like that once in our chimney. When the babies hatched it sounded like a Disney film. Enjoy your little birds. I'm sure they'll be back in following years now that they've made themselves so comfortable.

Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness said...

I think you keep feeding them until next Thankgiving where the dinner will then take care of itself. MMMMM SQUAB.

Helena said...

How darling! Having baby birds just outside your door is like a small, noisy blessing. And yes, you'll be stuck with them through the spring, and maybe next year the parents will come back to build another nest there. But in the fall and winter the mailbox will be yours again.

L. V. Gaudet said...

We had a bird problem - ours was swallows.

We tried everyting, and no matter how many times we knocked the nest down they rebuilt it by morning or by the time we came home from work.

2 years we had to put up with waiting for babies to fly the coop.

The only thing that worked was a motion sensor hooting plastic owl from a garden center (ours was real size and lifelike looking). Put close enough to where they were nesting, every time they flew by it hooted. Worked like magic.

JCS said...

It's very sweet that a little birdie family chose your mailbox for their home. A bunch of spider babies chose my mailbox for their home and that makes getting the mail a bit scary. Enjoy your new tenants!

Laura Howard said...

I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw that nest! I am surprised they were so persistent! How funny!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

I guess they have their minds made up!

Jocelyn Rish said...

That's so cute that they were so persistent. And how wonderful of you all to work with the mailman to let them have a temporary home. Although you know they'll never like a birdhouse as much as they like the inconvenient mailbox. :-)