Another Bird Rescue

[Zen]

I have a pair of swallows who nest in my carport in the same spot every year. A previous tenant had put levelor blinds up there (why?) and I took them down. the birds nested on the rail of it but this year they managed to stick their nest to the wall using only mud.
I saw the mom and dad perched on the handlebars of my spin bikes and thought it an unusual behavior for them so I went out to look.
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/Bikeperch.jpg
The mud didn't hold. The nest was on the ground, five babies had been knocked out of it but were still clustered together in nest form! I picked them up and arranged them back in the nest but still didn't know where to put it.
In a burst of ingenuity I knew how to get it back pretty close to where it was. This involved a snow shovel and a stepladder, I am the Maguyver of the avian world. http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/thewholesetup.jpg
So far, everyone is living happily ever after.
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/nest1.jpg

[sbctwin]

Oh my...what pics!!! I am a bird watcher and enjoy the pleasant company of birds throughout my yard. Have the parents visited the babies since the 'move'? I am glad to see you are so innovative....

[emily_in_nc]

How wonderful! Zen, you are a genius. LOVE the pics! :)

Emily

[makbike]

I love stories with happy endings!:)

The little ones should be okay. Mom/dad will should take of the little ones even if a human has touched them. The bonds are quite tight and deep.

Keep us posted!

[LBTC]

Zen, that is so cool! Thanks for posting the pics, and let us know how they do.

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[IFjane]

Oh Zen! What a wonderful story! My yard is a certified wildlife habitat and I love attracting birds. I don't have any swallows, but this year a pair of phoebes tried and tried to put a nest on the wall under my deck. They never could make it stick (they also make mud nests). They finally gave up and went elsewhere. A pair of wrens also built a nest under the deck & successfully raised a brood. No pictures though...:(

[margo49]

Zen - you surely are a latter day Daktari.
Bless your little cotton socks!
[or Smartwool as they case may be]

[Ninabike]

That is wonderful!! Please keep us updated on their progress. We have had a sparrow couple which builds a nest inside the sail cover of our boat every year. We always have to remind the guy who cleans the boat not to run the hose on top of the sail cover. Needless to say, we don't go sailing when the birds are there - usually March through June.

[Duck on Wheels]

We had a little "linerle" (bobtail?) nesting on the manifold of our car one summer. That sure kept us on our bikes! We had to leave the car standing in the dorm carpark all that summer until the nestful had flown :p

Never had to rig a swallow ledge, though. Well done, Zen!

[smilingcat]

Zen,

You are so wonderful. One of many reasons why I've come to love this board. So many wonderful warm hearted caring people.

Thank you, and let us know how the chicks are doing.

Smilingcat (Shawn)

[Zen]

UPDATE

The peepers have flown!!!
All six of them were perched on the line for the dog trolley today. It must have been their first time out, they still had bits of fluff and downy feathers wisping about and every time mom or dad swooped by they still opened their mouths for a handout:p
Sorry kids, you're on your own!
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/sixbirds2.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/Sixbirds.jpg

[Trek420]

Congratulations! This is the best kind of "empty nest syndrome" :D

You did a good thing :D

[snapdragen]

Awesome zen! We have baby mockingbirds right now. They're out of the nest and lurking in the shrubs, can't quite fly yet. Mom and Dad are very watchful!

[margo49]

And very bonny they look too!

[SadieKate]

Awwwww. Congratulations, Auntie Zen, on a job well done.

[lauraelmore1033]

Oh, what a wonderful story! I LOVE the swallows. They swoop through my yard sometimes but don't nest here. I love to watch them in the evenings, but they don't stick around. I would love it if they nested in my yard! Can you believe that my local paper had an article last summer with pointers on how to get rid of swallows and their nests?! Hmph. It makes me so happy to watch them. Your story makes me happy in the same way.

[Zen]

:D :p :D

[sbctwin]

Wow, Zen, I hope you frame those pics!!! They are captivating. I am so happy that they made it and mom and dad took care of them. Wow, I just love the pics!!!

[Trek420]

Can you believe that my local paper had an article last summer with pointers on how to get rid of swallows and their nests?! Hmph. It makes me so happy to watch them. Your story makes me happy in the same way.

Hmph, indeed. Swallows are not only a joy to watch but I believe they are adept at catching bugs. We need them, as we need all wildlife.

Sounds like a job for a letter to the editor. My $0.02 is if one does not want to have wildlife around the home please indicate that by waving your hands wildly and volunteering to move to the inner city to a nice cement cozy basement apartment with a view of a parking lot :)

If we enjoy trees, green and chirpy birdies .... then we need to protect them.

Yes, sometimes nature's inconvenient and messy; the poison oak you just can't get rid of, deer - is there anything they wont eat? Possums - I'm sorry but they are just not cute, ants - I hate ants .... but they were there first.

I learned in HS science class that nature bats last.

When Mother Earth says "you know, I have a last nerve and you just got on it" and we know she will it's not going to be pretty for us or our children. We're on the swallows home, the swallows are not on our homes. :) :o

[Zen]

When Mother Earth says "you know, I have a last nerve and you just got on it" and we know she will it's not going to be pretty for us or our children. We're on the swallows home, the swallows are not on our homes. :) :o

Hear, hear!

[SadieKate]

Can you believe that my local paper had an article last summer with pointers on how to get rid of swallows and their nests?! Hmph.Haven't they heard of West Nile Virus? It's on its way north.

I say use every natural tool in the arsenal. Besides, on a trout stream the swallows' behavior cues me to the insects which I can't see, not having the eyes of a swallow.

[Trek420]

I say use every natural tool in the arsenal. Besides, on a trout stream the swallows' behavior cues me to the insects which I can't see, not having the eyes of a swallow.

And the insects cue you to the trout ..... Oooh, sneaky :D :p

[lauraelmore1033]

oh, you bet those little fellas are adept at catching bugs (and reducing the possiblity of West Nile Virus). We live on the edge of a protected wetland area which is a little swampy. The mosquito clouds rise up from the swamp and those swallows swoop and dive through them with great gusto. That's part of the joy of watching them!

[bmccasland]

Yeah, and even the not-so-green federal agency I work for even has Purple Martin houses (apartments on a post) and Wood Duck boxes. It is fun to hear the manly Cajuns get all gushy about baby birds. As many of our locks are out in the middle of nowhere, purple martins (a type of swallow) and bats are the ONLY mosquito control available.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Bonnie Cat seemed to be interested in the baby swallows too - but I think it may be more along the lines of interactive toys. She and her sister, Erin, has been TORMENTED by a mockingbird that has a nest in the shrubs out front. Poor kitties just want to catch some rays (they're old).

[short cut sally]

What sweet pics zen, how adorable. We too have barn swallows that have built a nest in our shed where the lawn tractor is this year, along with the yearly return of the robin. One year, a robin built a nest in the outriggers of DH's backhoe, he tried several times to stop the construction, but they were determined. She had 4 little eggs, and they took a couple small tours of the country side as he had to do some small jobs, but once they hatched, all work with the hoe was put on hold until the nest was empty. My DH and I love to watch all the little ones. The last 2 years, but not this year, we had killdeers build a nest in our driveway, and the little fuzzballs were so cute. A big round fuzzy body and long legs. I missed them this year.

[Trek420]

Yeah, and even the not-so-green federal agency I work for even has Purple Martin houses (apartments on a post) and Wood Duck boxes. It is fun to hear the manly Cajuns get all gushy about baby birds. As many of our locks are out in the middle of nowhere, purple martins (a type of swallow) and bats are the ONLY mosquito control available.

I was watching a show, think it was on Discovery Channel about the ongoing clean up of the Katrina destruction. One problem is while entire neighborhoods were destroyed and have not been rebuilt this includes not only houses but their swimming pools. They can't drain the pools it just get re-filled with rainwater, if they had the funds to fill them the neighborhood would be re-built already. The mosquito abatement problem is huge.

Sounds like they could use more swallows. :) :p

[KnottedYet]

I treated a patient who'd had West Nile. It can be a devastating illness.

Support your local Skeeter-Eaters!

[Zen]

...Oh, I forgot to mention that Bonnie Cat seemed to be interested in the baby swallows too - but I think it may be more along the lines of interactive toys. She and her sister, Erin, has been TORMENTED by a mockingbird that has a nest in the shrubs out front. Poor kitties just want to catch some rays (they're old).

I've seen this before, even had them come after me once. You have to admire the audacity.