"The Birds"

Here are some photos from our recent bird adventures. These photos involve Bird #3, since birds # 1 and 2 had already come in the house from under the refrigerator and been safely relocated out the back door. The count still stands at four, which means we have had 24 bird-free hours since the last invasion. Keep those fingers crossed, people!

Disclaimer - these photos might make one think that Toby did all the work on bird eradication, but let the record reflect that Bill and I performed a substantial amount of the work while Toby was hiding (he would say seeking refuge from the stress of the day) in the garage. In fact, upon noticing the crazy fluttering noises coming from the chimney and sticking his head in to look around, Bill was kind enough to say something along the lines of, "Toby doesn't like spiders, does he?" prompting a thirty minute pre-bird-eradication spider eradication. Then I spent half an hour with my head up the chimney, having fastened a mirror to the end of a fireplace tool in an attempt to look around the unique angles found only in a 70 year-old brick fireplace. Then, when Toby came in from finishing his work in the garage, he very happily joined in on the action by........


....taking the obvious course of action - donning a full haz-mat suit, goggles and bird-flu prevention mask, and looking around.


......then fashioning a bird net from a laundry hamper, a dust brush, some twist ties and a hanger (a la MacGuyver), and looking around.

....and finally jutting said bird catcher around in the chimney until the bird either escaped or froze in terror only to re-emerge 24 hours later as Bird #4.

Here is a nice shot of Bill enjoying the show.

Sad Sadie at the realization that she was not having birds for dinner.

We've patched the hole under the fridge, blocked the vent into the basement and closed the chimney flue, but we have little doubt that those intrepid birds will figure out another way in. :)