Ironically, the weeds, overgrowth, and tangle of vegetation are very attractive to most birds. It provides them with cover and nesting sites, and there are usually berries, seeds, and insects in the vegetation as well. They don't care that the plants are too close together, or whether a bed is edged perfectly or sprayed for weeds. I had a very overgrown yard when I moved here 10 years ago, with many invasive plants. The only thing I continually remove are invasive plants, and in stages because I've done most of the work myself by hand. Sometimes I wish it had gone faster, and been "overhauled" as you are doing, but I tried to preserve habitat. I left some thickets of vegetation, and left "snags" or dead trees up in the back yard purposely to provide nesting habitat for cavity nesters (and Black-capped chickadees are cavity nesters). I had Bluebirds nesting in snags here for 2 years, until the snags fell over. I also leave up some dead branches for perching and insect value. I would suggest that you go over to All about birds, and read about the BCCD. Also observe the little chickadee's habits in your yard, where they like to "hang out", and perhaps leave some habitat intact throughout the overhaul.

I've got a pair of Carolina Wrens making a nest in a potted fern today. It's fun to watch them. They're using dried grass clippings from the cutting and weed whacking my son did along our walkway yesterday. They're both hard at work! I know I'd never be able to photograph them though. They scatter at the slightest sound or movement on my part. Robin

I have a small basket hanging on a hook on my covered porch. Usually, Carolina wrens nest in it. But the other day I saw a chickadee fly out of it. I want to take it down and look into it and see if there are eggs. Will that scare her away? It's kinda neat to see a different bird nesting there for a change! I have several old, small baskets and didn't know what to use them for......so I've hung them around for birds.

The 3 babies are still in the box this morning, a few hours short of 14 days old (they hatched in the afternoon hours). The baby birds in my pic do not hunker down, that is their normal position when they are at rest in the nest cup and at complete ease. They do gape when I inadvertently make a noise, even a soft noise. This is not like usual monitoring where the baby birds see the monitor. I know this all because I peek several times a day in my special spybox and have watched them at rest, move about, fluttering their wings, etc (I have also done monitoring the usual way) Yesterday late evening I peeked in the box, briefly turning on a faint light and saw the mother bird sleeping and fluffed up big time. It was a bit colder than the previous days at 8 degrees Centigrade. She looked very much like a mammal with very long fur, LOL.