Last Friday I was sitting at the kitchen counter working on my computer,
when suddenly I heard an unusual bird cry I'd never heard before.
when suddenly I heard an unusual bird cry I'd never heard before.
I swiveled around on my chair and looked out on our deck.
A swallow was perched in a cranny above our outdoor table,
and I didn't need a translator to know what that cry meant!
"Honey, come quick! I've found the perfect location for our new nest!"
_singing.jpg)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica rustica)
"Oh, no you don't!" I roared, jumping off my chair and bursting onto the desk
with my biggest and baddest King Kong imitation.
Terry and I have been through too much bird drama and trauma
with nesting birds on our deck and front porch in the past decade.
They can nest anywhere they want,
except on the deck area we use or on top of the front door light.
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© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved |
I went back to work at the kitchen counter, confident Mr. Swallow wouldn't be back.
Two years ago, when a Cooper's hawk killed a mother dove, leaving broken eggs
in a smear of her blood on the deck floor, I was done!
While a distraught Terry cleaned up the mess,
I summoned my inner Newfoundlander
and began to erect some bird nest blockers.
Forget things like a fake owl sitting on your deck to discourage birds.
I've seen pigeons and doves sitting on them in the neighborhood and laughing.
No More Sneaking a Nest on Top of This Speaker
When We're Not Looking!
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
It took some experimenting with different materials
to find a mix of objects that stopped the urgent nest builders.
Forget to block one side, in squeezes a robin.
Leave a small space, in wiggles a house finch.
A Goldfinch Pair Scouting Locations from the Tree by Our Deck!
Aurora, Colorado, USA
May 23, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
You Don't Fool Me! I Know You're looking Sideways!
Aurora, Colorado, USA
May 23, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Busted!
Aurora, Colorado, USA
May 23, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
This has been very effective for the past two years,
I haven't had to replace the streamers
come heat, blizzards, hail, downpours, or strong winds.
No More Sneaking a Nest on Top of This Speaker
When We're Not Looking!
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Bird Defenses!
Aurora, Colorado, USA
May 21, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Even more than constructing a nest on a musical rest,
the pesky birds like a spot with a good roof and sheltering walls.
Primo Location!
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
I quickly learned two years ago that they don't like chopsticks, emery boards,
bamboo florist twigs, or humpy, lumpy metamorphic rocks,
particularly in tight spaces.
I had to figure out what worked in each nook and cranny.
Yes, I was foolishly resting on my laurels when I heard that strange cry again:
"Look, Honey! An Open House! Let's check it out!"
And there was the swallow nestling down in the left corner above the table again.
King Kong charges out the door roaring!
That damn swallow wouldn't give up!
He'd fly away and soon circle back, encouraging his mate with his excited cries.
"Honey! Location, location, location!"
King Kong!
"Honey! If we don't get moving, someone else is going to nab this!"
King Kong!
"Honey! We've got to get an offer in, before this one gets away!"
King Kong!
Okay. Time for action!
Obviously King Kong was sliding into the definition of insanity.
I dragged the ladder from the garage, through the house, and onto the deck.
Then I stuffed a plastic container into the cranny
to block the direction the swallow was flying in from.
Wow, those swallows have impressive flying skills!
Mr. Swallow went into a full hovering reverse when he neared the plastic.
I didn't know they could do that.
I looked out a while later, and that wily swallow had silently slipped in
from the opposite direction and was snuggled into a tiny, tiny spot.
And optimistic me had returned the ladder to the garage.
Out to the garage, grab the ladder, drag it through the house, and onto the deck.
Back to the garage, dig through the recycling,
find the perfectly-sized, no-sodium-added, petite-diced tomato can,
and stuff it into the remaining hole.
Duct tape it all in place with white duct tape, because I couldn't find the gray.
Take that Mr. Swallow! You can't squeeze a beak into that cranny!
Take That, Mr. Swallow!
Aurora, Colorado, USA
June 6, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
The swallow retreated in defeat, and no bird has so much
as stuffed a twig in the four prime locations on our deck since then.
But what, made this last spot the perfect location of all? I wondered.
I went out on the deck and looked around at each corner.
Oh, that festive front door upgrade!
A splash of indestructible yellow ribbon that has been gracing
the front of the cranny for over two years.
There's nothing like a grand entrance for curb appeal.
Curb Appeal
Aurora, Colorado, USA
June 6, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
This week, my friend Rain's Thursday Art Date theme is
Colourful June: Yellow for June 9, 2022.
There is still time to join in the fun and creativity!
Next week's theme is Colourful June: Red for June 16, 2022.
People in different time zones around the world participate,
so the link gadget where you can join in is open for a number of days.
And since we all need to laugh during these challenging times,
here are a some bird funnies:
Stay colorful and creative!
Rocking the Park Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado, USA
April 7, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
My next post will be on
Friday, June 17, 2022.
On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
I was planning to use this video for next Friday's post,
for reasons that will become apparent.
But when I watched it for the first time this morning,
I realized it was full of yellow, deadpan funny, and even featured some birds.
"I get high like Colorado."
Some things are just meant to be!
Milky Chance - Colorado (Official Video)
8,288,349 views Premiered Jun 17, 2021
Lyrics for Colorado (Google)
I get high like Colorado
We had it all but what do I know?
I try to push away the sorrow
But today, it's too late, I try tomorrow
(Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah)
I think that you were kind of mean (kind of mean, kind of mean)
You just replaced me in the scene (in the scene, in the scene)
I thought that we were evergreen (evergreen, evergreen)
Like a never-ending dream
Never been on the TV
Scratched me off of your CV
Out of your mind
Out of your mind
Never been so uneasy
Jealousy got me freaky
Out of my mind
So I get high like Colorado
We had it all but what do I know?
I try to push away the sorrow
But today, it's too late, I try tomorrow
(Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah)
I'm losing sleep all by myself
I'm wide awake and I just wonder how
You put my heart back on the shelf (back on the shelf)
Well, I'ma be a loner now
Never been on the TV
Scratched me off of your CV
Out of your mind
Out of your mind
Never been so uneasy
Jealousy got me freaky
Out of my mind
So I get high like Colorado
We had it all but what do I know?
I try to push away the sorrow
But today, it's too late, I try tomorrow
(Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah)
Drownin' in my sofa with my blood shot red eyes (ooh)
Ridin' rollercoaster 'til I see the sunrise
I get high like Colorado (I get high, I get high)
We had it all but what do I know?
I try to push away the sorrow (I get high, I get high)
But today, it's too late, I try tomorrow
(Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah)
I get high like Colorado
Colorado (yeah), Colorado (yeah), Colorado
I get high like Colorado
Colorado (yeah), Colorado (yeah), Colorado
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Joacim Bo Persson / Clemens Rehbein / Sebastian Arman / Philipp Maximilian Dausch
Colorado lyrics © Edition Rehbein, Edition Dausch, Wasted Talent Publishing Gmbh, Hippo Legend Publishing, Favorite Song Publishing Ug
_singing.jpg){kind=link}
Hi Louise, thanks for this wonderful and funny post today, it gave me a good laugh, which I really needed! I love how you have filled in the porch cavities to stop the little feathered friends moving in, I wonder if you will succeed? Im sure that our birdman David Gascoigne will be able to give those swallows a tip for finding a way in! Anyway, thanks again for a very funny post which has got my day off to a good start! Have a great weekend, hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed it, Valerie! Humor is the hardest thing of all for me to write, but I push myself to try it every so often. Oh, wait, poetry might be worse ~ lol! I love birds, and I was thrilled to spot that goldfinch pair in the tree next to our deck. They are so beautiful! Yellow kept coming up everywhere. Sometimes the universe is really pointing your in a direct. Have a great weekend, my friend! 🙏🏼🥰❤️
DeleteThanks for the birdie smiles.
ReplyDeletePersistent little critter. I am amazed that you finally did succeed in discouraging him.
You're welcome, Sue! I had a lot of fun rounding them up. There are so many wonderful cartoonists and meme generators online. Some people have humor that is off the charts. Our goldfinches are one bird we have that rivals your galahs ~ although there is just something about a big pink bird with an expressive crest. Have a good weekend, my friend! xoxox
DeleteThe parrot one is funny.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of work to prevent birds from nesting...
Happy Friday, Alex! I loved the parrot one, and it reminded me of the two Scotch sisters who lived down the road and were my grandmother's friends forever. They inherited a parrot from their uncle who had been a sea captain, and they could not stop it from swearing a blue streak. This was a trial for two proper older women. Have a great weekend, my friend!
DeleteNo bird is gonna outsmart YOU, Louise! Hahahaha, fun post! The memes and cartoons are good too, especially the foul-mouthed parrot!
ReplyDeleteI love that foul-mouthed parrot! I laugh every time I look at the funny. Birds are smarter than we give them credit for ~ At least that's my excuse!!! Have a great weekend with your Rare One, my friend!
DeleteHi, Everyone! I finally found the spam folder and have emptied it. 😱 I found a number of comments from my blogging buddies and posted them. 😊 Then I mindlessly eliminated dozens of spam pieces. 😩 I'm going to check it every day. Happy Weekend!
ReplyDeleteGood morning, thank you for dropping by my blog today. Your post was too funny and had me smiling. Birds will be birds won't they? we always enjoy the birds, we feed them on our deck in the mornings-and then fight off the squirrels from eating all of their seed lol Happy Friday
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, Kathy! I do love watching the birds and all their antics. Squirrels! Frisky, thieving fun. I hope that you are having a great day!
DeleteI think you have foiled the birds, I think so!
ReplyDeleteMe too, Christine! Whoo Hoo! Have a good one!
Delete...Louise, after seeing your tapered post on your porch it looking like you may have an Art and Craft style house. That is a favorite of mine. I have a lean to on the side of my barn where I store some tools. Last year a robin built a nest in a post hole digger that was hanging upside down. Mama wasn't happy when came near. https://backroadstraveller.blogspot.com/2020/05/robins-nest.html
ReplyDeleteThanks for your visits, take care and enjoy your weekend.
Robin mother are fierce, Tom! Some years back we had robins nest in the corner the swallow was trying to occupy. We were sitting at the table having dinner in front of the window, and that Mama was not happy. She literally stood in that nest and glared at us all through dinner. I'll never forget it.
DeleteI never thought of the craftsman style porch posts before. I didn't know it when I was a child, but my Grandmother MacBeath's apartment and ours were filled with classic craftsman style furniture. To me it was our regular furniture. My Grandmother MacDonald had lovely pieces too. Her husband was a talented woodworking carpenter and made the pieces. I didn't recognize what it was until I started watching HGTV, especially series set in Nashville. The furniture passed on to other people in the family, but Terry and I bought modern-crafted craftsman pieces for our major furniture. I love the style.
Have a lovely weekend!
hahahahaha now that was one determined bird, but couldn't beat your determination as you lugged that ladder around not once but twice hahaha no bird was going to beat you. And that is one way to reuse too. Whatever it takes to keep the pesky birds out of the porch. Lots of yellow in the video indeed. Can picture the parrot flipping them off haha good ones indeed.
ReplyDeleteYou always make me smile, Pat! Have a great weekend, my rhyming friend!
DeleteThanks for visiting! That is quite the battle you have! They sure like that spot.
ReplyDeleteThey sure do, Jenn! Thanks for visiting. Have a great day!
DeleteI understand why you wish to prevent the birds from nesting at your house, but it seems a tad ironic that humans, all nine billion of us, (and growing), have taken over most of their habitat, destroyed the places they call home, polluted the water they drink, poisoned the air they breathe, filled the soil and the organisms therein upon which they feed with deadly chemicals, yet still we place obstacles in their attempts to survive. It fills me with sadness.
ReplyDeleteIt fills me with sadness too, David. I can understand how distressing it must be for anyone who knows and loves birds as much as you do. I've loved birds all of my life, and I grew up learning their common names from the beginning. There were lots of casual birdwatchers in the generations of my extended family.
DeleteExcept for the four crannies on our deck and the top of the front porch light, birds can and do nest in other areas around and on our house and under our deck. They are clever opportunists!
Have you visited the Brier Island Nature Reserve off Digby Neck in Nova Scotia? It was established by the Nature Conservancy of Canada in 1988. It's a hot spot for observing birds along the Atlantic Flyway. It's a unique and moody area, and I try to visit it each time I go to Nova Scotia. I highly recommend it!
My "Canadian" Nature Conservancy donation goes to this reserve in honor of my Great Aunt Nan who led Audubon Society birdwatchers on hikes there before the creation of the reserve. One of my fondest memories of her was her asking me (at 76) what I thought of her wearing a pair of pants to Brier Island for a hike she was taking the birdwatchers on the next day. She was ironing a pair in the kitchen when I stopped by for some coffee. It was going to be foggy and chilly. "Duh, Aunt Nan!" That pair of pants was the first pair she ever wore in her life.
Have a great weekend!
Hi Louise: Brier Island is on our list for next year!
DeleteIsn't it amazing that your aunt had never worn pants? I suspect the opposite is true today, some women have never (or very rarely) worn a skirt.
Awesome, David! It's a wonderful place. When I went to Acadia University as a freshette in the fall of 1967, Acadia allowed girls to wear slacks/jeans to class for the first time. I tended to live in pants when I was in working as a geologist, except in the office and when I taught second and third grade. You'd be amazed at how much vertical climbing I'd do in a classroom during a typical day. Enjoy the rest of your day!
DeleteAwesome post ~ you work very hard ~ and are so creative ~ Xo
ReplyDeleteWishing you good health, laughter, and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
We have just discovered that a bird has climbed inside our dryer vent hose
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that caused some excitement, Adam! Thanks for your interview with Debra on her blog. I love people who are courageous and truthful like you! Enjoy what's left of your weekend, my friend!
DeleteFunny post, you taking after the birds. We have bird nest under all our decks, but most are out in the fields... I will be sad to see the yellow finch go as they once the first cutting of hay has been done. We do have bluebird boxes and they're also fun to see. and listen to them sing
ReplyDeleteBirds provide such music and joy to our lives, Jeff. And I like to remember that they're the descendants of dinosaurs. My favorite birdsong is that of the meadowlark. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Take care!
Deletewhat a fun post!! I happen to love birds and have not (yet) had to resort to keeping any from nesting anywhere. Your photos are great! I have a hard time capturing our birds- but then I only use my Iphone and should have a camera with a good zoom lens. Love the funnies too. (visiting very late from Rain's Thursday Art date:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words, Linda, and thanks for visiting! We all get around to visit when we can, especially when we're joining in with Rain from around the world. Have a happy and relaxing Sunday and a good week.
DeleteThat swallow photo early in your post is just amazing. I've never had birds nest on the house, but under the eaves of on outbuilding we have, a phoebe nests every year. It isn't spring until they are back, whether they arrive in mid-March or not until late April. It is interesting how wildlife can tell us so much about the world, isn't it? I hope your anti-nesting devices worked. Hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteThanks, Erika! Sometimes I just get lucky when I'm looking for an image, and when I found that swallow, I couldn't believe my eyes! And his vivid yellow mouth was perfect for the theme.
DeleteHow lovely to have a phoebe return to nest every year. We do have some phoebes here along the flatter stretches of rivers on the eastern plains and canyons in southeastern Colorado. (I love Google search ~ I can get info on almost anything!). It's such a sweet songbird. I don't recall seeing one here, but I'm going to look.
So far my defenses are working! Have a great week, Erika!
I'm still trying to learn how to find and move blogging comments in the spam folder. Yesterday I could move them, today I can't. But I have a figured out a work-around.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind and encouraging words, Carol: Carol at A Shutterbug Explores: Awesome post ~ you work very hard ~ and are so creative ~ Xo Wishing you good health, laughter, and love in your days, A ShutterBug Explores, aka (A Creative Harbor)
CAROL: A SHUTTERBUG EXPLORES
DeleteHi Louise,
ReplyDeleteWonderful picture of the swallow. And I love the finches.
I didn't realize the female had red markings. I love birds. It's always a treat to open the
windows and listen to the birds sing.
Funny bird jokes too.
I do love birdsong, Dixie! Thanks for your kind words and for visiting. May your week be filled with the songs and sights of birds.
Deletealways loved swallows. Thanks for sharing them
ReplyDeleteYou bet, Monica! I had such fun with this post. Have a great week!
DeleteI loved this post, Louise! I can relate to what you're writing. I've been traumatized by birds nesting on our property when we were living in Kingston. It seemed like a good idea at the time until I witnessed heartbreaking things. I understand it's part of nature but it's still difficult to endure. I'm much too sensitive for that. Where we are now, we don't really have good places for nesting and I'm okay with that. Your photos are amazing. I especially like the first one! I hope you had a lovely weekend and I wish you an amazing week ahead.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you enjoyed it, Martha! I had fun putting it together! I reminded myself all the time that predators need to eat too, and that I am an apex predator myself. My weekend was great, and I'm looking forward to lots of fun this week. Take care, my friend!
DeleteI totally understand. I've had a similar experience with a persistent finch family. I can't stand guard day and night to keep the nest safe, but they seem to think it's my responsibility and they rebuild every year. Disaster each time. Loved the bird humor!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lee! We've had some successful bird families launch from our deck, but we've also had some heartbreaking tragedies. Have a lovely weekend!
DeleteLouise, what a story!!! I love your DIY bird busters!!! I had to laugh at the fake owl...when I lived in Montreal we were infested with pigeons and they poop everywhere. My apartment balcony was disgusting, every morning I had to clean it to use it. I bought one of those owls and yes, a pigeon was sitting right on top of it!!! I love the curb appeal!!! Though I can't imagine you king-konging it up lol! ☺
ReplyDeleteLOL ~ Rain! Terry worries about what the neighbors think of his crazy wife. It's funny about how the yellow just fell into place. I was going in a different direction, and this birdwalk became so much fun. Take care! Hugs to you!
Delete