the mighty, but wily, house wren

In an effort to be top bird of their territory, house wrens will fill bird houses with fake nests to discourage other birds from nesting them.  I checked my blue bird house, in which a nice pair of bluebirds had begun to build a nest, only to find it filled to the top with sticks (see above:  the bluebird nest was on the bottom of the bird house, which I pulled out of the removable bottom).  The little bastard topped their nest with sticks (the mess inside the bird house) and it worked - I haven't seen the bluebirds for weeks, inside the bird house anyway.  I saw Mrs. Bluebird taking a bath in the bird bath this evening, so at least they're nearby.