Another Bird Rescue

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/b.../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/b...wholesetup.jpg
So far, everyone is living happily ever after.
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...tury/nest1.jpg

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....

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

Emily

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!

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

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

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...:(

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

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.

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!

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)

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/b.../sixbirds2.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...y/Sixbirds.jpg

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

You did a good thing :D

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!

And very bonny they look too!

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