LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Monday, March 16, 2015

Looking for a Home


It feels like spring around here despite the bare trees.  The birds are singing and we have sunshine after a couple of gray rainy days.

Oh, and March Madness is upon us once again.  We had an early dinner last night in order to watch the complete tournament selection show.  And today my husband will buy several copies of USA Today because he like their brackets best.  And American citizens will eagerly await President Obama's brackets so they can criticize him for not taking their favorite team to the Final Four.


I do love college basketball but I'll probably spend more time watching the birds than the round ball.  We have lots of bird boxes in the trees near our house, a couple of them from our local potters intended to be more decorative than functional.  So imagine my surprise when I glanced up and saw a chickadee poking its head out of one of the houses.  The bird sat there for several minutes and at first I thought it might be stuck.

(You many need to click to enlarge.  Lighting was not optimum.)

Chickadee popping its head out of the box




 The bird hopped onto the perch.  It wasn't stuck, thank goodness.




It sat on the perch for quite a while, looking around as if to check the view


I don't think the chickadee will build a nest in this box, but who knows?  At least we can be assured that bigger birds or flying squirrels will not be able to enlarge the opening.  This is probably my favorite time of the year as we begin to see our migrating bird friends once again and our resident birds begin to nest.  And then my other favorite time when the birds bring their fledglings to our feeders.

Our forsythia is really budding now and they are blooming downtown.  Spring is wonderful.



17 comments:

Barbara Rogers said...

Wonderful to see a bird investigating the pottery bird house! Yay spring!

Anonymous said...

What a surprise seeing that chickadee at that birdhouse. Smart little beauty. Enjoy the coming spring days.

Golden Daily Scoop said...

Now that's a sure sign of Spring! Can't wait until we get some renters in ours! :)

Tara said...

Did the chickadee inquire as to the listing price? What a doll, and what a cute little house. I love all the birds in your neck of the woods. My pals in Chapel Hill spend most of their time out doors on the porch watching the birds. There are so many. They house and feed as many as they can -- it makes for great entertainment.

Ms. A said...

That is SO AWESOME! It sure would be great if one decided to take up residence!

NanaNor's said...

Hi, I'm with you about spring weather being wonderful! We hit 82 today, but then the wind came up and cooled off our temps. I have two bird houses up but found last summer that the wasps were using them for nests/hives. Don't know how to keep them out-I'm ready to get rid of the houses because the birds don't use them and I don't want the wasps having around.
Hope you have a wonderful week.

How Sam Sees It said...

How pretty! We've never had much luck with getting birds to use the houses we set out. It would be sort of neat if one took up residence in yours.

Monty and Harlow

Arkansas Patti said...

Who knew they shopped real estate. That is an adorable house and I hope she takes it.

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

My office fills out a bracket not because we're basketball fans, but because one of the orthodontist office's that we refer too gives lunch to the office that gets the most right! We're hopeful! :-)

But I love the little chickadee checking out some new digs--Soon they'll be getting serious!

The Bug said...

Ooh I need to fill out my bracket! I just do it with one eye closed & hope for the best - and we rarely watch any games. It's just fun to check the next day to see who won.

Spring is about to spring here too - can't wait!

Mary Lee said...

I need to fill out my bracket, too. Mine is always difficult because you know I factor in politics, too. If a state has sent asshats to Congress, I don't want to give their team any good vibes by putting them in my brackets. I confess that it's getting harder and harder to find deserving states. I have watched very little basketball this year. Please feel free to share your basketball wisdom with me. :)

My bluebird houses are full--but not with bluebirds. Do you think it's too late for me to put out a third bluebird house? I see bluebirds at our feeders regularly. Love your cute birdie cottage!

Vicki Lane said...

Oh, I love the little birdhouse and its tenant!

Basketball happens around here as long as the Tarheels are in it. If they don't make it to the next round, interest plummets.

Hit don't matter to me -- I'd rather watch the birds.

Cheryl said...

That is surely the cutest of bird boxes. Lets hope the chickadee takes us residence :)

Busy Bee Suz said...

Happy spring! The little chickadee made me giggle...how darn cute and sweet! I'm with you; I'd rather watch the birds than basketball. We purchased Final Four tickets through a charity and I opted to stay home....it's not my thing.

KB said...

I love that bird box. We have such trouble with squirrels eating holes in our wood ones. Yours is pretty and perhaps very functional.

I thought that Duke and NC would meet in the finals of the ACC but Duke stumbled. It's going to be an interesting tournament. Unfortunately, we will miss a lot of it while we're in the desert. :(

Carolina Linthead said...

Spring is wonderful! Love the little house and wee little chickadee!

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks for your comments, everyone.

Mary Lee - It's not too late. But if house sparrows have taken over the other houses, I wouldn't bother. They will eat the bluebird eggs and babies.