In Riga’s elegant Esplanāde, one bare tree stands out from the surrounding greenery. Its trunk and branches are crowded with scores of small wooden birdhouses, painted in an assortment of greens, yellows, reds, pinks and natural tones.
From below, the collection is so dense that the boxes can initially resemble an unusual lighting installation. Look more closely and the circular entrances reveal them as nesting boxes. Bird boxes have a practical role in Riga’s parks: the city’s park managers maintain, repair and install them to provide nesting places for cavity-nesting birds.
This particular tree has been photographed and documented in Esplanāde since at least 2022. However, readily available official information does not establish who originally created it, exactly when it appeared, or how many of its boxes are occupied by birds.
Whatever its origins, the extraordinary concentration of colourful nesting boxes has turned an otherwise bare tree into one of the more unexpected sights hiding in plain view in central Riga.