Even the birds are tough in Philly

I walked out to my deck the other day to find this, the remnants of my tulips--my gorgeous, lovely tulips.

Look, you can even see a lone petal caught in the leaves.

Le sigh...

Anyway, I figured that it'd been all the wind we've had lately, and I wrote it off a live-and-learn experience.  That is, until I heard some commotion going on outside. I peeked out the door and saw this--the real culprits behind my de-feathered tulips.

 

Don't you love how the guy on the left is looking right at the camera. It's like he's challenging me: "You wanna come out here so I can show you whose flowers these really are?" Sheesh, that bird is a real jerk.

Apparently, they're using the petals to line their nest, which is on the top of the building across the alley from me. Honestly, I'm not too upset about it; the birds have good taste. My purple tulips were gorgeous, so I understand why they'd want those at home. Besides, the rest of my flowers have been pardoned so far, and no one has pecked at my peas or herbs, so for now we're at a truce. But that could change quickly if the birds get too greedy. We'll see how it goes.

Anyone else have to deal with this? How do you keep the birds at bay?