Monday, April 16, 2018

Sorry there, little birds.

And this happens each and every spring.  I wage a battle with the birds that are immediately attracted to the front of the house,  where nest building is their thing.

And I get it.  There are some really great spots up there for nest building.  And I *almost* wouldn't mind too much if it weren't for all the crap that ends up everywhere.  Bad enough to get birdshit on the car,  it's even more annoying when it's just out of reach on the front of the house.

To quote one of my favourite childhood cartoon heros,  "That's all I can stands,  'cause I can't stands no more."

Here,  in case you're still wondering:


Popeye


OK,  where was I?

Right.   So,  in spite of the really crappy weather,  the birds are coming back north,  and they're looking for spot to hang out.

We've had a Morning Dove "nest" on the pillar of the front porch.   We've had Robins do the same.  Now,  I have "nest" in quotation marks,  as it seems that Morning Doves....wait.  I just realised,  they're "Mourning Doves",  not Morning Doves.   Even though that ridiculous cooing sound they make is enough to drive you around the bend in the morning,  that's not a thing.

Their "nest" consisted of a few strands of dead grass,  amongst which they laid two eggs,  which then proceeded to roll off,  breaking on the cement steps below,  making a mess.  I gave them the bum's rush.

The robins however,  managed to get a nest built and had eggs in it before I was able to properly get up there and knock their creation down,  so we watched those little guys hatch and fly away.  Pretty sure I wrote about that once upon a time.
I'm not that cold hearted that I'd knock down a nest that had eggs in it. 
No, really.

So then we have the sparrows.

Holy Moly.

Like I said,  if they'd just not shit all over the place,  I might let them build a nest up under the eves,  but NO.
I mean,  I like birds. 
Again...really.

So,  I had to do some hackin' and hewin'.

The results:






And over on the other side:




Note the snow still hanging around,  even though it's been raining pretty steady for the last, oh I don't know,  20 hours or so?   It's above freezing,  but just refuses to leave.

This isn't just one board though,  it's a multi piece contraption that fits in the opening in such a way as to prevent birds from both sides of the purlin.   A  Purlin , by the way, is basically a roofing member that runs perpendicular to the rafters.  In the case of The Ponderosa here,  the builder fancied things up by having them come out past the front of the building.

There,  you learned something.

And,  as is the norm with this kind of thing,  it never really occurred to me to take a "before" picture. 

Figures.

Travelling Companion couldn't quite get her head around the idea that I did this from inside the house,  even though I explained the use of a sliding T-Bevel to get the angle,  along with only needing three of the dimensions to work with.   Kind of like when she tries to explain to me some sort of special sewing thing or other,  and I try not to let it show that my eyes are starting to glaze over.
Look interested....nod your head,  nod your head.

Like that.

Oh and,  "Sliding T-bevel"?   Just look it up.


Thanks for stopping by.

For those of you for whom this applies:  Bundle up.

For anyone else where it's warm?

Well,  I'm *happy* for you.

Keep your stick on the ice.






6 comments:

  1. I like birds as well, and I even like squirrels, but not so much when one managed to make his home in my eave. Easy enough to close up the hole the siding guys did not think was a problem, but making sure I did it after the family was outside was pretty important. Also moth balls discouraged them from trying to come back...come to think of it they might work on birds as well, doesn't matter, sounds like you've solved the problem.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm with you. If they just wouldn't leave so many deposits they could nest anywhere. Our neighbors have a hummingbird nest under their awning. But they've left for the summer (the humans that is) so we'll just let them (the birds) keep building.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks like you are dealing with the bird "stuff' no matter how you do it should help, good luck !

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dang robins--they try to build nests everywhere on/near our house in spring--they make such a mess and the Cowboy is not as nice as you are! :) :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. My brother had been swallows nesting in his eaves. They were great rematch but their flight path passed right over the deck and they usually made a deposit traveling either direction so they are not so great to have to live with. Like you though, he was a softie!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You have to do what you have to do. Nice as they are they are also a mess to clean up.

    ReplyDelete

Well, I've been getting too many spam comments showing up. Just a drag, so we'll go another route and hope that helps. So, we won't be hearing anything more from Mr. Nony Moose.
I guess I'll just have to do without that Gucci purse.