Without warning of any kind and after living in our house for ten years, we've been invaded by barn swallows. This invasion has become personal. Sometime a month or more ago, a young mated couple of swallows decided to make their family home inside our chimney.
I'm sort of caught here. I can't quite see their nest, but I could probably get in there and blast it apart with a stick or something. Anyway, the baby swallows hatched about two weeks ago. Now they spend all hours screaming for food and defecating inside our chimney. If I destroy their nest now, they'll fall down further inside the chimney and die, stinking up the house.
I did gain access to near where their nest is. Our chimney is adjacent to our garage, and there is a covered flue opening there. At one time, our garage used to be a family room that was heated by a wood stove which explains the flue. Anyway, the flue is about six feet off the ground. So I attached a mirror to a board and used a flashlight to scope out the chimney. All I could see was one unhatched egg that had been kicked out of the nest and lots of bird poop. While I was looking around in there, the birds screamed a definite frightened cry; it was intensely shrill like something out of an Alien movie.
I've left the flue uncovered for a few days now in the hopes that the swallow fledglings will jump out all on their own. Sure enough, the morning after I first opened the flue, a swallow was frantically trying to escape from a closed window in my garage. I had to capture him and then release him outside the garage door. I think this was one of the chicks, but I can't be sure. The bird didn't seem to have much power to fly up, but when I showed him the path to freedom, he bolted away across the road and into a cluster of trees.
I sure hope they all leave soon so that I can cap my chimney.
I'm sort of caught here. I can't quite see their nest, but I could probably get in there and blast it apart with a stick or something. Anyway, the baby swallows hatched about two weeks ago. Now they spend all hours screaming for food and defecating inside our chimney. If I destroy their nest now, they'll fall down further inside the chimney and die, stinking up the house.
I did gain access to near where their nest is. Our chimney is adjacent to our garage, and there is a covered flue opening there. At one time, our garage used to be a family room that was heated by a wood stove which explains the flue. Anyway, the flue is about six feet off the ground. So I attached a mirror to a board and used a flashlight to scope out the chimney. All I could see was one unhatched egg that had been kicked out of the nest and lots of bird poop. While I was looking around in there, the birds screamed a definite frightened cry; it was intensely shrill like something out of an Alien movie.
I've left the flue uncovered for a few days now in the hopes that the swallow fledglings will jump out all on their own. Sure enough, the morning after I first opened the flue, a swallow was frantically trying to escape from a closed window in my garage. I had to capture him and then release him outside the garage door. I think this was one of the chicks, but I can't be sure. The bird didn't seem to have much power to fly up, but when I showed him the path to freedom, he bolted away across the road and into a cluster of trees.
I sure hope they all leave soon so that I can cap my chimney.
2 comments:
I read somewhere that it takes 17 days after hatching for the birds to fledge. I don't remember when these loud beasts hatched, but it sure seems longer ago than that. They're still screaming in the chimney. I wish they would stop!
Good Job! :)
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