It’s springtime, and since our yard is very animal-friendly, we have many critters who come back year after year and some who never leave, staying to raise their new families.

Every spring, two birds nest in our climbing rose bush in front of the house. However, we cut the rose bush back this winter, so my husband, David, put up a little platform in the same area. A pair of wild finches moved right in and built a nest! It’s beautiful—one of the birds wove an orange string she must have found on the ground carefully around the top rim. It looks like a handmade Indian basket! I saw the female fly in and out, constructing her nest, while the male sat on the porch and sang his little heart out.

After the wind blew the nest off the platform and onto the ground, David made a little scalloped piece of wood for the edge of the platform to secure the nest. He put the nest back on the platform, and now we’re hoping they (or another pair) move back in.

If you see a nest on the ground, carefully put it back where you think it may have fallen from. You will most likely be rewarded with lovely serenades from a chirpy little bird family.