Home Invasion

What a frightful sight.  A once safe-haven for summer nesting birds was invaded by a squirrel during the winter.  

This isn't the first time this has happened in my Hamptons garden.  One winter, a squirrel attacked a vintage purple martin house that had been purchased in Virginia then repainted and posted in my front garden.  Not content to invade just one compartment of this old birdhouse, the marauder gnawed open almost every one of the eight portals.  The decaying house crumbled when I tried to repair it.  So I rebuilt an exact replica, but added copper predator guards to each hole.  Painted them white so they would blend into the facade. So far, no more break-ins.

But this most recent break-in has left me a bit more uneasy.  As you can see from the picture above, a small jute rope that suspended a summer lantern from a nearby tree was pulled into this house.  Was the rope nest material brought to the house by a winter nesting bird seeking shelter from the wicked cold?  Or did the house invader bring it to tie up potential prey?  I guess I'll unravel this mystery when I begin the repairs.

Painted metal predator guards protect the entry holes of this house from marauding squirrels.