Every spring, I witness the same ritual by the blue bird box: the male comes to inspect the nesting box several times, in and out for three four days in a row then he brings his Mrs.She take a quick look, frowns, sticks her beak in the air and makes it clear that the bed room does not have a Jacuzzi and that the kitchen lacks granite counter tops and off she flies followed by the contrite sucker.
Next day he comes back, alone, re-checks the place and, two days later brings her back; guys are slow at getting some messages! (I have to assume she is the same one; all those blue birds look the same to me)
She takes a disdainful look, complains about the lack of temperature-controlled wine cellar and off she goes followed by the clown.
This usually concludes the yearly blue bird relationship with my blue bird nesting box.
Then, a couple of days later fly in the "realists", two tiny little chickadees who, based on their chatter, get along really well and work great in tandem. In no time their new nest gets built, followed by egg laying, parental feeding and before you know it flight school for the young ones.
In the last twenty five years, I have seen this scenario enacted twenty four times with only one successful blue bird family using the box.
Morale of the story: better a hot little chickadee in the nest that a cold blue queen in the bush.
For the rest of the summer, the nesting box becomes foreground for some sunflowers:
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