There is one very determined wren that insists EVERY YEAR on trying to build a nest in a pot in a corner of my greenhouse. Once the war begins I have to go out at least once an hour to pull out the astonishing amount of nesting material.

The picture is from last year .. I actually put an empty coffee can on top of the area WITH a lid on it it and the critter somehow took off the lid and built a nest in that!

I'm pretty sure its the same bird since the nest building occurs always in the same place in the greenhouse. The main reason I'm against this is because the babies will get drenched with water and considering that we're due for another polar vortex this coming week and beyond thru April according to AccuWeather she'd be shut out of the greenhouse on days that don't get above the upper 40's.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to discourage this darn critter from digging out holes in my pots and building nests? I'm sick of it .. I have bunches of bird houses and other nooks and crannies available and they do get used.

Can you fix screens on your greenhouse vents and doorway? If not, maybe install a cat?

Thanks for replying. I found some poultry netting and put that on the vents and door .. keep them out thankfully but a real pain to deal with.

... But they're so cute!


From inside my house

I had a wren trying to build a nest on top of a ladder hanging on the wall in my tool shed one year... her supplies kept falling to the floor... so... I nailed up a pot for her... she nested in the pot, and everything was good.

personally, I'd be trying to fix the water so the nest didn't get drenched...

Stone, they are just so adorable!!!!

The main problem with the pot is that they dig down about 2 inches throwing dirt everywhere. A few years ago one nested in a pot within a pot. It was low enough that I got some really neat pictures!

Woohoo! Cute nests and cute baby birds!

Wrens are the worst for picking odd places to build a nest...which BTW is done by the male. Once the eggs are hatched some"moms" takes off leaving Dad to care for the kids while she "does the do" with another male. Every year I have a nest under the top on my propagne tank. Had one in my GH too. Happily the eggs hatched when it was OK to put the plant outside, which I did next to the GH door so it was easily found. The best ?? place was on the window ledge of the bathroom (brick on block house). Was inbetween heat and a/c season when ya never know which needs to be turned on. Anyway that window had to be left open because of the nest. The eggs hatched and the babies woke me each morning yelling for food. Was a fun time in the shower...where the window is...watching Dad bring food and feed them. And no one seemed to mind getting sprayed once in awhile

I didn't know that the males mostly raised the babies! I find nests pretty much everywhere too .. I also have a hedge rose that Cardinals and Mocking Birds nest in every year. My biggest gripe about them making nests in the plant pots is that they dig holes and throw the dirt everywhere. I'm so glad I finally found a way to keep them out of the main greenhouse.

Who the cats Xera in your avatar? They look cool.

That's Barney & Feif .. they are brother and sister .. They're my fur babies.

Lovely. Are they mirror images of each other?

No, Barney's white crest ends in a point and has a white tip on his tail. Feif's crest is rounded with no white tip on the tail plus a black freckle popped out on her nose about 2 years ago. Barney is the most photogenic cat I've ever seen .. you can't take a bad picture of Barney if you try .. I think it's because his facial markings are very symmetrical.

Love them.

Thanks!

stone said:... But they're so cute!


From inside my house

Xeramtheum said:The main problem with the pot is that they dig down about 2 inches throwing dirt everywhere. A few years ago one nested in a pot within a pot. It was low enough that I got some really neat pictures!

Adorable baby chicks!

As cute as these guys are, in all honesty I've come to regard them as rats with wings.

They really are a pain in the rear .. I keep running into nests in the most inconvenient places. Awhile back I left the door to the utility room open for about 2 hours while I was outside and when I came back in I found a nest being started in the middle of my miter saw. I cleared out all the nesting material and stuck it in a pile outdoors in case they wanted to reuse it .. then about a week later I once again left the utility room door open and when I came back in they had started a nest in one of my open tool boxes.