I love birds; I really do. But the last couple years a pair of juncoes have decided they would like to nest in the hanging basket on the deck beside our patio door. I’m sorry, guys, but IT’S THE WRONG PLACE. I have significant time and money invested in that basket and I need to be able to water it daily, fertilize it weekly and regularly deadhead its blooms.
They don’t care. They also apparently don’t care that my hubby barbecues underneath it, that our table is frequently occupied under the umbrella beside it, or that there can be significant activity on the deck around it. For instance, a few weeks from now there will be about sixty people milling around during our annual church barbecue.
We tried surveyor’s tape, fluttering a discouragement. Then we tried hiding the basket out of sight.
Now it’s temporarily covered by an old apron, barricading against their nest-building access during times when we aren’t around to guard it.
They don’t seem interested in the tubs that sit on the deck — not that I’d want them there either — it’s just the hanging baskets that appeal. They fly in, burrow between the plants and excavate a hole into which they start importing their building material, leaving remnants on the deck underneath. The splats they leave on the window as they come and go aren’t desirable either.
It’s not as if there aren’t other nearby nesting places available to them. We live amidst trees. Lots of them. It’s a forest, for goodness sakes! There’s even a nesting box. But, no, they are persistent. Well, guess what. So am I. If I’m not, there will soon be eggs and babies, and at that point I wouldn’t have the heart to dislodge them. My basket will soon look pathetic as the heat dries it out and kills the plants. So for now I must be vigilant. Sorry, little juncoes, but GO AWAY.
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I tried to extricate a writing analogy from all this, but the only one that comes to mind is the need for persistence. In the goal for publication we first need to research the right places — appropriate agents or publishing houses — and then keep sending out queries until the ideal match is made.
Now if these juncoes would learn that lesson, too, we’d all be happy.
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JUNE 17 UPDATE:
It seems we managed to discourage their occupancy of our hanging baskets, only to redirect their efforts to the deck tubs. Sometime between dawn and 8:00 a.m. they managed to almost complete the construction of a nest in the centre of one tub. ::sigh:: Really, guys, this is taking persistence to a ridiculous level!
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MUSINGS 
You have to admire the persistence of those little birds, just like a story idea that won’t go away until you sit down and write it!
True … that’s another area where persistence is useful. The juncoes apparently have a one-track mind. LOL.
I think those juncoes *have* learned the lesson. They know what they want and have stuck to their goal!
It’s clear that the basket has features they need: it’s up high, has enough foliage that they can burrow into, but it’s surrounded by fairly open area.
I could point them to several nearby trees that meet what I think are the same criteria, and would give them more privacy, but yes, they seem to have found what they want. Hopefully, the need to lay eggs will soon prompt them to accept an alternative location. 🙂
I wonder if a plastic hanging basket would suit their fancy? Or are they too smart for that? Beautiful photos, Carol.
My current baskets *are* plastic, but it’s their contents I’m trying to protect. Maybe that’s the compromise…create a basket just for them with a couple drought-resistant plants. 😮
Looks like they feel safe at your house, Carol. Sorry.