He shot all the guineas? that is sad. He must have had a really bad day and acted very impulsively. :(
Its not your fault that she shot them Jeanner. You had no idea he would do such a thing.
I always worry about that when I want to call someone about their dogs in my yard. I'm so afraid they'll just shoot them.
I'm sorry this happened to you.

OMG! It isn't your fault Jean! You live next door to the Neighbour from H*LL! :*( How could he be so callous?

I'd betcha *anything* it was not only you who expressed their concern about the birds roaming around the neighbourhood. Maybe the city got involved and told him he has to get rid of them?

Either way ... you my dear are NOT responsible for the stupidity of others!

C3D

I agree that it wasn't your fault, Jean! Seriously, you can't control the actions of others. Some people are just not worthy of animal ownership....let alone being called "human". What a scumbag. :(

Brenda

It wasn't your fault Jean - you had no idea the neighbor would do that. He was being a callous butthead! If you get more of them maybe you can trap them and give them to someone that wants them where they won't wander away to other properties.

I hope you didn't see him shoot them (on your own property)!

Honestly, the whole thing doesn't make sense. Apparently he took them because the owners didn't want them and had no other place to take them. And apparently once they have nested in a spot they will continue to return to that spot. I doubt anyone else complained because they were literally in our yard all day, although another neighbor guessed they were driving us nuts since he could hear them and he's over 500 feet away. The same neighbor told my husband that the owner would probably shoot his dogs if we told him they were bothering us. And yet he has taken on two lame horses.

I've had exactly three conversations with this man, although he nods when we pass. The first conversation was to let us know that he was okay with whatever we wanted to do with our property (we were concerned how he felt about the mess the yard was in when we moved in). One conversation was about how the birds really liked the mulberry tree that is on the border between our properties and the other was when he called to offer help when my husband broke his hip.

I just don't get it!

You don't get it? Plain and simple...

The guy is an IDIOT! He reacts without thinking. I hope he at least has remorse for his actions. Maybe he's got mental issues like our unbeloved Toxic Neighbour obviously has? Maybe he's in the early stages and his actions will become more erratic? Oh Lordy! I hope not!

Speaking of the Toxic One, my devious Mike was saying that when we do build the Swift tower ... we should put a chimney cam to look inside and follow their activities. Great idea, Mike! He also said we should put up a camera with flood lights on the outside pointing over at the Toxic yard. LOL! Now we're building a guard tower to monitor the Toxic activities.

Mike's got too much free time! :-)

Jeanner........he sounds like he's got ADHD or is bipolar or something that makes him be incredibly impulsive with wide swings in his behavior. I've known men like that. They seem to be not able to deal with problem-solving in a patient way, and just take the easiest route out.
Many years ago my husband was soooooooo busy with a new business. He decided to come home early one day, and unfortunately the neighbor's big dog ran after his car, and he ran over his leg, cutting off the foot.
DH stopped and told the owner, and told him that he would take him to the vet. The guy said "just have the vet put him to sleep".
DH came home with the dog before going to the vet, and I had 2 little kids and health problems, and I just couldn't deal with another dog (we already had one). So DH took him to the vet and they euthanized him. My heart aches whenever I think of this. I feel so guilty not taking him in.......but I was on the brink of insanity at the time, and just couldn't deal with one more problem.
But my point is.........that man had the same reaction as your neighbor. They just can't find the patience to deal with problem-solving, and shut their emotions down, and just "get rid" of the problem.
Sad, but true.

That guy seems very strange to me. He takes animals people don't want (lame horses and homeless birds) but will shoot them if someone complains. Strange also that your other neighbor said what he said about if you complained about the dogs he would shoot them too. How does that neighbor know he would shoot the dogs if someone complained? I wonder how THAT topic came up? I would talk to that neighbor again to ask why he thinks that. Maybe there is more to hear about this odd neighbor. What will happen to the lame horses?

Is he married? Does he have a family?

I think I don't even want to think about my neighbor and the guinea fowl anymore - I think I've hit my stress limit.

Anyone have any good birdie stories?

We have about 12 bird feeders hanging around the place (outside) and two are suspended tray feeders from Wild Birds Unlimited. We put a mix of three kind of little suet pellets in one. The other has mixed nuts.

Yesterday a Robin was checking out the tray and was tossing some of the pellets to the ground. There were the usual suspects on the ground like the Cardinals, Mourning Doves, LBJs, Blackbirds ... But one very enterprising Starling was right there and he caught the suet pellet!

Hmmmmm. That was kinda cute. Good catch! Probably was just a one time thing though.

LOL! He caught another. And another! The Grackles and other Starlings are feeling cheated and they close in on the catcher. While they are looking around on the ground the star catcher has his head tilted and keeps an eye to the sky and is ready for the next pitch! Got it! :-)

On the inside ... Barry is still happily singing his I Can See Out of My Left Eye song. A ha! The way to Olive's green heart is through song. She's going to visit him often, sitting next to his prison cell. When he's done with the lyrics she says ...

Well HiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiii! Hi Sweetheart! You the pretty bird! HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! Followed by lots of kissing noises!

I'm not sure what Mr. White thinks about her visits. LOL!

Gonna check his eye pressures tomorrow. :-)

Wonderful stories, Chicka!! Star the Starling sounds so talented! THAT would make a great video. :D

Barry is such a stud. I'm voting for him on the next American Idol. Can't wait to see him and Olive on the next episode of Prison Stories, too. LOL

Jean, just say the word, and I'll show up with my pellet gun to ping the toxic neighbor. One can dream, can't one?

Brenda

Can't wait to hear how his eye appt goes. It is good to hear that he is still singing his song. And Olive has to be one of a kind. Makes me want a bird, but hubby say's no way. My Purple Martins are happy and enjoying their pond as usual. I thought I only had 3 pair this year, but now have about 5 pair. I was reading about them and it say's that the ones that hatched the previous year don't arrive until about a month later than the first ones. It has been so cool, that I've been fearful they wouldn't find enough insects to sustain them. But they seem to be doing ok. I tried to throw some crickets up for them to catch, but they act like I am trying to hurt them and fly away. I am planning to add a couple more houses for them next year and am going to put some feeding trays out for them. Glenda

I'll keep my fingers crossed that Barry's eye pressure is acceptable.

Let's see......the birds I've seen recently........a gorgeous male red-start was flitting about in the maple tree.
I also saw the bluest indigo bunting I've ever seen. I wonder if they are the bluest in the spring?
I saw a bird with the sun on its feathers and thought it was something like a cerulean warbler, but it was "just" a blue-gray gnatcatcher. the sun shining on it made it look quite different.
I think that's it for the more unusual birds. The hummers have been coming to the feeder a little more often. We're supposed to get 45 mph winds later today, so I'm not expecting to see too many birds out.
Those crows are sure territorial. The turkey vultures have given up roosting in the trees nearby. Every time they would get close, the crows would start chasing them away.
I had 3 tree frogs talking to each other yesterday. Man are those little guys loud!
We chased the big northern water snake from my little watergarden twice this week, but I see last night that it was back. I guess I'll let him stay, if he promises to not eat any frogs in front of me.
Happy Mother's Day all you mothers! :)

LOL at the pellet catching starling! Too funny!

Glenda, tell me about your martin houses, I've thought about trying but I never see them here so not sure if it would work. We have swifts that fly around every day and the occasional tree and barn swallows, do you think I could attract martins too?

I have yet to see a red-start in breeding colors, I get to see them in the fall but never the spring. Actually that's true of most of the warblers, I wonder if their migration path in the spring is different than the fall???

I know what you mean about the indigos looking so blue - I wonder if it just seems like that when you see them against the bright green emerging leaves.

I still have some yellow-rumps around and a nashville warbler that continues to forage in the buckeye tree. All the summer residents are back and chasing each other, every time I look out I see a pair of birds fly by!

It's amazing that the turkey vultures have given in to the crows - it just goes to show that size doesn't matter!!

Thinking good thoughts for Barry - we'll be looking for an update!

Nix that comment about never seeing a male red-start in his breeding colors - I JUST DID!!

I came home during our break this afternoon and went outside to water some flowers. The familiar twittering of our Chimney Swifts was all around and I looked up.

There was a flock of them circling and diving around our / their home. I counted 32 Swifts!

Oh My! I can't say they are all making themselves cozy in our chimneys but I see a poopy chimney in our future!

We're ready for them too. Mike put up the screen doors already so if someone does come inside for a kiss, the kitties won't hurt them.

Mike was outside later in the afternoon and counted between 32 and 38 (!) Swifts! OH MY! We kinda suspect they will find a home here since the neighbours capped their chimney.

Whatchagonnado? They came all the way from the Amazon basin to have their chickies here. How could we not roll out the welcome mat?

3 D Chick

Yesterday I heard the bird house by the veggie garden burst into tiny chirps as Mr. and Mrs. House Wren came to feed the kids. Next weekend we'll get the sandflies by the millions. Happens every year right along the lake shore. For now, I gave them a tray of the little suet pellet thingies from Wild Birds Unlimited and mealworms.

They said THANKS! LOL!

YAY, chimney swifts!! Hope you only have dreams about swift kisses this year, Chicka! Even as yummy as they are...LOL

So, next weekend, it's all you can eat for the house wrens? I love it when nature feeds itself! Not that I mind feeding nature now and then. :D

Brenda

Barry's cousins had chickies. You can see one or two beaks sticking out of their home. :-)
{{gwi:168135}}

Okay, not fair, I never get to see any Mommy birds and nests! They are all so hidden, I can tell the general area where they are but I can't see them! I used to have a phoebe that nested on our downspout for a couple of years but then I built the pond on that side of the house and she never returned. :^(

Our swifts are back too, don't know where they are nesting either but they spend lots of time flying and chirping overhead.

Heres my latest photos, had a nice variety of birds this weekend ... this is about the end of migration here so it was nice to see some late arrivals.

Swainsons thrush ...
{{gwi:168137}}
{{gwi:168138}}

Great-crested flycatcher
{{gwi:168139}}
{{gwi:168140}}

Male magnolia warbler
{{gwi:168141}}

Oohhhhh! But you take *the most* beautiful photographs! :-)

I never saw any of the latest you posted. The little Warbler is a chubby fellow. He needs a hug! LOL!

Saw my first American Goldfinch yesterday. A male. Almost bounced off my windshield on the way to work.
EEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!

Jean your pictures are AWESOME!!! I hear a Wood thrush out there singing so beautifully but cant see him for all the woods! LOL...Your Great crested flycatcher photos are so wonderful and that is the exact bird i saw last year that was my mystery bird. LOVE their poofy heads :-) Love all the birdie stories too. You all are great!
Bonnie

Another Robin's nest on our down spouts. If you look at the bricks those little specks ...you'll see the ~lake flies~ or midges that cover everything starting this time of year.

During the day they cover the trees, structures ... everything. As the sun sets, they fly into the sky forming huge swarms. Their hummmmmmmmmm is almost deafening! The Swifts, Martins, Sparrows ... everyone feasts on the flying steaks each year. Funny thing is that if you get just a block or two away from Lake Erie ... there's no midges! That may be one of the not so big secrets to Camp Nappy's birdy population. LOL! :-) {{gwi:168142}}

I have a Robin in an evergreen in my backyard. The nest was her third attempt. The 1st nest had some Easter Basket grass my son and I put out two years back. That nest was destroyed by rain (the mud bottom gave out) but it had no eggs. The 2nd attempt looked pretty good, but she quit building it. Then I saw the third and final nest (I guess the eggs could not wait) and it is on a slant. Geez - I hope the babies don't roll out. Last time I checked she had 3 eggs. I hope she didn't lay the fourth (the robins usually lay 4) as when it gets tight in there, and with that slant, somebody is going to roll out. I looked at it to see if I could straighten it out but it is firmly attached. Chicks should hatch any day now.

Had a young Grackle caught in my pond net. Fully fledged but still bumming around with Mom periodically for handouts. Not sure how long it was caught there, but it had pooped several times, but I cut it free and carried it over to sit and study how to get the middle toe and toenail cut loose from the remaining net remnants and put the bird's head under my shirt to calm it and held the wings down in one hand. I managed to cut all of the net pieces but there was one piece too tightly wrapped around the tip of the toe just above the nail. I guess that toe tip might fall off? The bird was otherwise OK, no broken legs, but the middle tow was stretched out longer than it should have been. I have since modified my net to make it not extend all the way out and down outside the edge of the pond so when smaller birds walk around the edge, and then take off, they have an improved chance to fly up and away and not hit the net. I have no frogs right now lucky for the bird or it would have been eaten although I doubt the frog could have gotten it's foot free. It was really tangled up. I let it go in the wooded area and I guess it joined the other Grackles. I did see some juvenile Grackles coming and going today. I would think an injury such as this would not prevent the bird from making it's way in life. It could fly fine and was old enough to forage on it's own.

BTW - beautiful photos and stories folks! CT

Hey CT! Sounds like you did a great job of getting the grackle untangled, I wonder how it mangaged to get so entangled. Sure hope it's okay!

Keep us up-to-date on the robin - maybe you can put a trampoline under the nest :^)

I had two male rose-breasted grosbeaks last night - one was a first year male and looked very molty! It's rather late here for them to be migrants and if they stick around a few more days (June 1st is considered the "safe" date for the breeding bird atlas) I get to count them as "possible" nesters! I just wish the blue grosbeak would come back too, he was one gorgeous bird. I have had a few late migrants in the last few days, a male magnolia warbler and a female redstart. But I'm guessing that's about it for the migrants.

I had my first downy fledgling clinging very hard to the side of the tree - his tail feathers had not developed fully yet so when Dad took off, he tried to follow but was pretty "wobbly"!

I'll keep you posted! Oh, I had a downy male bring one of his young to the suet and the Dad would pick off a piece of suet and the baby would come down the trunk and fuss for the food. I wonder if there is only one baby?

Fledglings everywhere! Robins, Bluebirds, Grackles, Starlings, Purple Finches, Downys, White-crowned Sparrows, House Finch, House Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Vespers Sparrows, Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbirds! Youngsters! In the trees. In the bushes. On the patio. In Daisy's mouth!
EEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!!!!
Daisy! What are you doing?!?!? NO! DROP IT! DROP THE BIRD!

So far she's brought us two Grackles, a Starling and a Finch fledgling. Aside from having the poop frightened out of them and a bit soggy with Daisy drool, they are all unharmed.

Saw a squirrel yesterday with a quarter length of his tail missing. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Wonder ~who~ did that?

Before the dogs go outside we tap on the glass of the breezeway door. That's the first signal to the squirrels that Daisy is about to be released. Then she's held back and the second warning of " OUT! OUT!! OUT!!!" is called to the squirrels and bunnies that may be in harms way. They all scatter! They KNOW! Once the coast is clear Daisy is let out. But she's IS a stalker and hunter. :-(

If it is just Rani, the door is opened without any warning. The squirrels, birds, bunnies *might* lift their heads to look but are otherwise unconcerned. The only time Rani is the slightest threat is when the Toxic One is outside. Rani rushes toward her growling and barking! Good Girl! :-)

OWL! About 5:00 this morning the silence outside exploded with the alarm calls of the Robins, Cardinals, Finches, Blue Jays ... you name it. Maybe there was a stray cat outside so Mike let Daisy out to check the back garden in about 2 seconds.

Seconds later he sees her waaaay in the back dancing circles around some big brown thing. What the heck is that? Mike called Daisy back and she actually came and the big thing took flight! It was still dark at the time but Mike thinks it may have been a Great Horned Owl. Definitely larger than a little Screech Owl. It took almost 10 minutes for the Robins and all to calm down after that encounter. Mike thinks the Owl left without breakfast.

Good thing he didn't become breakfast too! OMG! Daisy DON'T hurt the Owl!

LOL!!! Daisy is SUCH a good girl, not killing stuff, "rescuing" and warning you of dangerous owls. :D

Roscoe helped "rescue" the neighbor's baby chicken, too! It got out of its cage and must have wandered over to visit Roscoe in her kennel. Good girl! Just like Daisy!! *proud mama*

I've been trying to get a pic of Marvin, the baby barn owl, but no one is up to help me before dawn! I'm going to try holding the flashlight and the camera at the same time tomorrow morning, though, because Marvin never seems to be up during the day now. Even if the pic is blurry, I just HAVE to share his deliciousness!

He WAS up the other morning, though. He was staring down at me, completely silent and still. Why wasn't he dancing for me? I started swaying and slowly bobbing my head...and so did he!! I stopped, he stopped. I tried again, and he followed! What a great partner!

Dances with Owls

Awwwww! Dances With Owls! :-) Kinda like Mike dancing with Olive but waaaay more cool to have an owl partner!

Speaking of Miss Olive, she laid an egg this morning but it fell and broke. She has no Mr. Olive so it would never have hatched.

Went outside this afternoon after a busy morning of slacking off and was scolded by Mr. Downy WP. Yo! Slacker! Yeah, YOU! Just look at the feeders here. EMPTY! Hello!!! Just look at my kids. They want their breakfast which is LATE!

Yep. There they were. Three adorable mini-Downys with their Mom. I quickly filled the feeders and as an extra smeared some suet plugs into the tree bark. I barely turned away before the family started having their picnic. :-)

I heard a new voice this afternoon high up in one of the Weeping Willows. I waited for some time until I could see who was the singer. A new bird came to visit Camp Nappy. An American Redstart. In my Audubon field guide it says this is one of the most abundant birds in North America. Hmmmm. I've been in North American almost 50 years and that was the first one I have ever seen! LOL!

Anybody ever see an orange Cardinal? My cardinals come late to the feeders every day and there is one that is orange-red, sort of pale. I think it is a female.

I had orange phase house finches before but I've never seen a Cardinal this color.

I searched images and found a photo that looks like the bird I see. The photo states it is a male.

Here is a link that might be useful: Orange Cardinals

I search more and answered my own question. There is something called an orange variant Northern Cardinal. Photo shows the red next to the orange. I hope this one hangs out more. The link is January diary of a nature/birdwatcher.

Here is a link that might be useful: Northern Cardinal - Orange Variant

I'm seeing lots of babies too - mostly the early nesters - the downies, hairies, red-bellies, chickadees, titmouse and carolina wrens. I really need to get out and take some pictures of all the babies....

OH, I love seeing the male redstarts in their beautiful breeding plumage, I had my first glimpse this spring. The females remind me of titmice. I'd think they would have to be breeding close by if you are seeing them now - maybe you'll get to see redstart-ettes!

How cool to see an orange cardinal! I've had a couple of orange purple finches. How's the robin's nest doing?

I had a male and female rose-breasted grosbeak at the feeders yesterday which means I can count them as a "probable" nester in my breeding bird survey! I'm not doing very well at confirming many birds, other than the easy ones, the guidelines are fairly stringent. And I am not a very good birder out in the field! And the creek has flooded it's banks so many times that it is so muddy that it's hard to go very far. I went for a walk in my neighbors woods yesterday to look for possible breeders and saw nothing, but I did hear a great-horned owl. It was late morning/early afternoon and it was hooting very quietly - I'm not sure why it was vocalizing in the middle of the day unless it was warning young that I was close by. I looked for a long time but never did see it.

Anybody else noticing cardinals or bluejays with head lice? They look so bizarre! And painful!

The Robin nest was empty when I checked it last. The parents never fed babies so something got all the eggs. I didn't see any eggs on the ground or pieces of shell either.

My bluejays and cardinals are looking good, no lice. I have young bluejays visiting the edge of the pond. They are more grey in the head and neck and have short tails, but they are pretty big. I am cutting back on feeding with just 3 feeders. It is getting too expensive and mostly I am being raided by squirrels and Grackles, with the smaller birds not getting much feeder time.

I think your RBG are nesters!

I think they probably are too but I probably won't be able to get good enough evidence to document it as such. Here are the evidence code guidelines ...

BREEDING EVIDENCE CODES AND CRITERIA *

Observed
X heard or seen within safe dates, but NOT in suitable breeding habitat

Possible
OS heard or seen within safe dates and in suitable breeding habitat

Probable
PO mated pair seen within safe dates and in suitable breeding habitat
T1 territorial behavior (counter singing, territorial singing, woodpecker drumming, male-male chases, etc)
T7 singing male at same location 7 or more days apart
AB agitated behavior and/or anxiety calls from an adult
CC courtship displays or copulation
VS visiting probable nest site, or nest building by wrens, woodpeckers,kingfisher, chickadees, titmice)

Confirmed
UN used nest (inactive nests; must be readily identifiable)
CM adult carrying material for nest (nest not seen)
NB nest building observed (nest seen)
DD distraction display/behavior; broken wing display or dive-bombing humans
PE gravid condition or highly vascularized brood patch (bird banders only)
CF adult carrying food or fecal sac
ON occupied nest; nest attended by adult(s), but contents not visible
NE nest with eggs
NY nest with nestlings
FY recently fledged young, incapable of sustained flight

But still fun to have them in the summer, although they have been pretty scarce.

C3D - any swift renters yet?

Hey there. I like those guidelines! :-)

No Swifts inside Camp Nappy ~proper~ yet. As I came home this evening I counted 12 Swifts leaving the larger chimney. Do you think that means we have at least 12 Swift nests? Last year Kramer mimicked the sound of the Swift chicks but no one has heard the chicks or Kramer's mimic yet.

**LOTS** of Cardinal and Eastern Bluebird fledglings today. :-) Haven't seen anyone bothered too much with the lice (poison ivy yes!) but then ... I'm not really home lately. LOL!

Chipping Sparrow, House Sparrow, Vespers Sparrow and Purple Finch fledglings everywhere. It's a LBJ daycare facility out under the crabapple trees. LOL!

I think the chickadees, titmice and downies have had a bumper crop this year! I've never seen (or heard) so many dee-dee-dee's before, it's so fun! So far I've only seen one young red-bellied but they maybe only bringing one at a time to the feeder. And just one young cardinal - which really is not a bad thing, I can only imagine what it will be like if all 70 cardinals from last winter bring all there babies to the feeders - I'll have to take out a loan for birdseed. I've also seen house wren, phoebe and catbird fledglings.

This evening I was following a spread-wing damselfly through the woods and I heard a bobwhite! We haven't had any in several years so I was really thrilled to hear it. I thought about trying to track it down but the mosquitos were eating me up alive! And the buck was stomping and snorting at me since I was standing in his bed :^)

Hmmmmmmmm ..Here's the latest addition to the Camp Nappy flock:
{{gwi:168143}}
Eeeeeeeekkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!

It's another baby chicky!

Apparently Mr. and Mrs. Ring Neck Dove didn't see the memo we sent out to all the inmates asking that they PLEASE refrain from increasing the population. Mike says they were busy making the chicky when the memo was sent out. LOL!

This little one is about 3 weeks old. OY!

Hello Doves!?!?!?!? Are you NOT reading the memo correctly? The request is to NOT... repeat ... NOT increase the population!

Sheeeesh! {{gwi:168144}}

This little one, probably an albino, hatched Friday or yesterday. Crappy pic shows him next to a 25 cent coin.

Awww, poor little darlins! That beak on the first one reminds me of an albatross! LOL

The Mr. & Mrs. sound like they took a certain education class from rabbits!

Brenda

A chastity belt perhaps???

It's amazing how fast they grow in just 3 weeks! They are just too cute (but then I don't have to house them :^)

Our first Chimney Swift guest arrived this morning and has become the latest casualty in what we have dubbed The Year of Death and Heartache at Camp Nappy. She flew into the window and instantly broke her neck and died even though there was a sheet of plastic sheeting stretched across the window frame inside to cushion the blow should a collision occur. That was not enough to protect her.

I believe the bird is a female because her pelvic bones seem far enough that an egg could easily pass through.

I took her photo to illustrate what a beautiful flying machine she had been. Hope you don't mind a post-mortem photo. {{gwi:168145}}

No happy endings here so far. Gonna shut down Camp Nappy. We discovered Death must be taking a holiday here. :*(

Aw C3D, I am so sorry about the swift. And I am so sorry that you've had such a rough time with your patients, I know it has to hurt because you care so much about each and every one of them. But none of them would have had a chance without you and their suffering would have been so much worse had you not taken them into your arms. No one else would have had any faith for Mr. Cardinal and Barry - but you did! You persisted, you fought the battle with them every step of the way. No one would ever beleived that Mr. Cardinal would ever fly again, but he now he is happily making babies! Death is so hard but it is part of a bigger plan that we cannot control.

You are an angel - please don't EVER forget that!

Chickie, did you send your swifts down here? I ask because now I have swifts nesting in my chimney! I heard them a few days ago and my husbands been hearing them too. No escapees into the house yet though!

Such cute little chirpings!

We have plenty of swifts to share with friends.

Congratulations, Jean! Aren't those the sweetest sounds when the chimney erupts with the sound of hungry chickies? LOL! Now we gotta figure out how we can drop you down the chimney so you can photograph them. 8-)

If you use your chimney in the winter please remember to have your chimney cleaned out in the Fall so the abandoned nests don't become a fire hazard.

3D Chick

Did your swifts leave, Jean? Any indoor guests? Ours left sometime last week we think. They didn't even say: "Bye!" We only had the one unfortunate guest this year.

Gonna ask the avian guy if we're missing something in Barry's diet. STILL NO butt feathers! :-( Camp Nappy is in full feather moulting season. Everyone, except for the Orange Weaver Finches are dropping old feathers. We have enough of Olive's feathers to make a tush toupe. If he doesn't like a gawdy green we still have Mr. Cardinal's tail feathers saved for such an occasion. LOL!