Garden shed being used as a giant bird box by little wren

MY garden shed has known better days. I assembled it from a flat pack a few years ago, and over time the wooden walls and roof have gradually sagged.

Various storms of various names have torn off sections of roofing felt, which I have dutifully replaced, while the west-facing window frames have rotted and the perspex panes have slipped.

Despite all of this, it mostly keeps the rain out and seems determined to remain upright.

Popping inside a day or two ago I found a little wren fluttering about, which quickly exited through the gap above one of the slipped panes. I then noticed that it had been building a nest beneath the ceiling – a wonderful mound of fresh green moss.

The nest had been assembled against a roof beam on top of a nail holding an old Christmas wreath hoop. A safe and cosy spot inside the shed which would make the perfect place to raise a brood of chicks.

Male wrens construct a selection of nests and females pick their favourite and then line it with feathers and other warm materials. A case of house building, followed by decorating followed by raising a family.

Here’s hoping this nest is to a female’s liking, because I couldn’t imagine a better location, being as it is protected from the elements and from potential predators.

Plenty of other birds will be starting to build their nests – and for some, like blackbirds and rooks, the breeding season is already in full swing.

Migrant species are also on their way – I heard my first chiffchaff of the year on Sunday and swallows should be arriving in numbers later next week.

For me the spring highlight is the sound of cuckoos later in April. Fortunately they still return from southern climes to breed on Dartmoor, but given their population decline it is always a relief when they do come back. Many happy returns to all our wandering spring birds.

Charlie Elder > A new wren’s nest in a cosy corner