As pretty as some birdhouses go, the ones that make Mike Dessert cuckoo are those outfitted with a tiny stick poking out of the front.
“If you ever see a birdhouse that has a perch, it’s not a real birdhouse,” Dessert said. “You don’t find perches around cavity holes in the wild. There’s a reason for that. It’s so predatory birds don’t eat the young birds.