Gourd works for Housewrens

by Ken
(Buffalo Grove, Illinois)

A relative was going to grow and finish gourd birdhouses and sell them on Ebay. We ended up with a complimentary prototype. I figured it was just a tree decoration, but as it turned out it was quite functional.

I think the male must have taken 2 weeks or longer to attract a mate. Day after day, hour after hour, morning-till-night, the same song over and over with no letup, until the magic day when they met.

I don't know about other nests the male constructed, but the female picked the gourd. Since the eggs hatched (3 of them) and the task of feeding the chicks began, the adults have become silent.

One of the parents is the nest cleaner, and that's real love, seeing as all they have to clean with is their beaks. Nuf said about that.

I hope to witness and photograph the young's first flight.