Should I Charge Them Rent?

The weather is finally breaking which means Big Boy is starting to feel like a caged rat in the house. He would be outside from sunrise to sunset if I would let him. Lucky for him, Hubby and I have been wanting to get outside and finish up some work in the yard. We are planning on opening the pool next week so today we focused on the back yard.

I was cleaning up the deck when I kept hearing birds chirp. I knew it sounded like babies but there was no way it was coming from a nest in one of the trees. I just happen to look up at the right time and spotted this little baby bird sticking it's head out of a small hole in my house. Interesting. I informed Hubby we had a family of birds living in the soffit and after a few grumbles under his breath he went over to check it out. The next thing I knew he was ran for the camera and was able to catch some really amazing photos of the Mother feeding her babies. Introducing our family of Sparrows...


I just can't get over how cool these pictures are! It was so wild to watch both the male and the female taking turns feeding the babies. I'm also impressed by Hubby's photo skills. Every time he saw one of them, he dropped what he was doing and grabbed the camera. Big Boy got a kick out of it too except he doesn't quite grasp the concept of being quiet so the birds were spooked at one point and we had to quickly set his attention to something else in the yard.


Now comes the next dilemma...after the birds leave the nest, do we patch up the hole or let it be for them to come back next year? I know having birds living in your soffits isn't exactly the best thing for your house but I like my houseguests and just may welcome them back next year.

I need to give my little sparrow family a name but for some reason my mind is drawing a blank. Any ideas? Now on the other side of the house, we have a much bigger problem. Carpenter bees have invaded those soffits and they are not welcome to stay. We have tried everything short of an exterminator to get rid of them. I've heard WD-40 works so I may have to give it a try. Luckily, they are on opposite ends of the house so I know I can't hurt my new friends. Check back often, I hope to update with new pics in a few days!