Couple days ago I reported that Susan discovered a pair of house sparrows that have leased out the space inside one of the backyard paper lanterns for their spring home. Susan posted pix of the project in its infancy and yesterday I checked in to see what kind of progress they’ve been making.
I’d say pretty excellent. In fact in my laybird’s opinion I’d say the place is just about move-in ready (click image for larger version):
You can see at the bottom center of the frame how the birds have pushed the nesting material through the paper… something of an anchor I’d imagine, clever critters. And inside the opening you can see the white of the light bulb and get a better understanding why I opted to unplug its cord. Not only would that be way too much light at night, but it might also draw the interest of any nocturnal critters that might see their silhouettes being cast onto the inside of the paper ball. And while relatively inaccessible they just don’t need to be attracting that kind of attention.
I also got a totally blown-out practically featureless picture below of what I have a 50/50 chance of knowing is the momma bird. Could be the male, but I think theirs is a more contrasted feathering. Anyway, she flitted out of the lantern and lighted on the nearby bougainvillea branch long enough for me to silhouette her against the morning overcast:
 
More and hopefully better pix of the pair to come.
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