Replies

1. 
   Walnutz | Mar 30, 2009 12:49am | #1

   I guess you'd better check before you turn it on, or you'll have scrambled eggs all over your planer.

   I had a family of mice make a nest in the pull cord housing of a gas motor that set idle for the winter a few years ago.  I couldn't figure for the life of me why I couldn't pull the cord.  At first, I thought the motor had seized, but it was only 1 year old.  There were 7 or 8 of them living in there, and made quite the mess.

1. 
   ctsjr | Mar 30, 2009 05:54am | #2

   The wren is trying to build on top of the motor/cutter head unit, so as soon as you fold down the infeed/outfeed tables, you can see what the little varmints have been up to. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"

1. 
   Tinkerer3 | Mar 30, 2009 06:57am | #3

   I have "trouble?" with black snakes getting in my shop.  I've encountered them several times but last year there was a four foot one by the cabinet saw.  My son carried it into the woods about fifty yards.  I went back in about an hour later and there was the same snake or its mate about ten feet from the first encounter.  The surprising thing is, the shop is weather tight.  It might as well have been the house.

2. 
   forestgirl | Mar 30, 2009 07:04am | #4

   Ohhh, Tom, what can you do to get her to nest in a workable place?  I tried to find nest-box specs, but "western wren" didn't seem to ring any bells out there.

   Wonder what it is about that planer!?!

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
1. 
   ctsjr | Mar 30, 2009 03:35pm | #5

   JamieI tried making wren boxes for them at our previous home--they loved the garage there too. No go. With the feed tables in the up position, there is access in and out but it is nice and private. The appeal is obvious. Plus, the garage is insulated, there's lots of hand tools and even a CD radio if they want some ambiance. What more could a wren want? (besides the planer nest!) Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"

3. 
   WillGeorge | Mar 30, 2009 06:53pm | #6

   Make one of these..

   http://www.craftybirds.com/wrenbirdhouseplans.html

   AND paint it Ridgid Orange?

   AS in the link posted... Nesting boxes should be painted on the outside to improve their appearance and to preserve them against the effect of the weather.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 3/30/2009 12:26 pm by WillGeorge

1. 
   ctsjr | Mar 30, 2009 08:32pm | #7

   Thanks for the link. I made two wren houses and mounted them under the eave of the back porch of our previous home, but didn't get any takers. We did have a pair of wrens that roosted in the top corners of the back porch posts, so I thought they'd love the houses. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 31, 2009 06:30am | #12

   Something I meant to put in my email and forgot:  This time of year, the horses are shedding like crazy.  We use something called a "shedding blade" to get the hair off quickly, it falls in piles on the ground.  If this takes place out in a paddock or in a grassy area that we don't need to clean up, it won't be long before we see birds gathering up the hair and flying off with nice warm insulation for their nests!  Cute!

   This past fall, we found a bird's nest in an artificial Christmas tree that had been left in a hidden area for a couple of years, unused.  Smart bird! (or gullible).forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   WillGeorge | Mar 31, 2009 07:03am | #13

   we see birds gathering up the hair and flying off with nice warm insulation for their nests!

   And a old man here that lays out balls of string and sees how many yards of string a small bird can handle..

4. 
   QCInspector | Mar 30, 2009 09:17pm | #8

   If you raise the head to max and leave the folding tables down they won't build in it. No privacy.

   Or you can put a cat in the planer and the birds won't want the company! ;-)

1. 
   WillGeorge | Mar 31, 2009 02:37am | #9

   Or just let them nest till they leave just in time for summer work for you to do!

1. 
   Shoemaker1 | Mar 31, 2009 03:17am | #10

   When we started demolishing and building on our lake side lot, I found a nest of a wood duck with about 6 eggs in it. We did not allow a dog on site and all workers were told to stay away, the nest was in some salvaged materials.Mother and 7 hatchlings went to the lake and hung around all summer.People out here battle the Barn Swallows, these little buggers eat mosquitos like crazy. They will avoid a bird house, but I put up a few high ledges and they love it.

1. 
   WillGeorge | Mar 31, 2009 05:30am | #11

   How can anybody not like a bird? Ok, so them Pidgins ars' something to shoo anyway.. But I wonder why they come back? I just feed them ever other day?..

   I think God sent me my wife. I was very happy.. I never noticed the birds.. After she passed on.. I saw many birds to keep me happy... But not the same!