Porch Weekend in Frankfort, Part 1

I visited Frankfort this weekend, and put some time in helping Bob work on his side porch. While he was doing some prep work, I tackled some of the birds’ nests that had cropped up in the joists. There was some chirping, so I wasn’t sure what to really expect when I pulled this out.

As I got closer, three decently sized birds all flew out and around me. It was a little startling when this happened, but perhaps it’s safe to say that the experience was startling for all of us.

I got the nest out in one piece. It seems that while there were kids in the nest, they were teenagers. And so I kind of forced them outside to go play on a Saturday.

Not sure if it helps or not, but I placed the nest in the crook of a nearby tree.

With Bob, setting up a work area in the driveway. It was nice to have a bit of shade from the daylight, but I have to say… seeing this canopy outside is a little weird. Almost unnatural.

Second nest. Sadly, I could hear some very light chirping from here and knew there was a baby inside.

I’m not even sure how the parents got in/out of here, as the nest was build pretty solid. I’ve seen bat nests that had more of an entryway.

As I got pulling, one parent was inside and flew away. I used a small tupperware bowl to catch the bedding, and also caught a small little guy who came out with the nest (think slow motion waterfall).

With Julie’s help, I put everything slowly into a box as I took it out (including the little guy).

Hard to see him, but he’s tucked along the edge there – barely any feathers on him at all.

I set up the box on a table, near where the nest was. Give how tight the space was in the nest, I figured this might be a good temporary nest for the parents to find.

View of the yard, from the upstairs porch. The small yellow item on the garden hose is actually a tractor, and I learned that it’s powered by the water. As it sprays water, it slowly moves forward, guided by the garden hose. You can lay this out across the yard and it will slowly follow the path you’ve set for it. Very neat!

The yard was always incredibly pretty to look at, but seeing it from this height made it even better. No wonder they want a little porch are up here.

With Bob, adding some flashing and putting in some new plywood down along the side.

I kept an eye on the nest throughout the day, and didn’t see a lot of activity. I saw the birds perch a few times on a nearby hummingbird feeder, but I don’t know if they realized their nest/baby was in the box. Julie noted that she saw the parents hanging out in a nearby tree, with worms in their mouths… so I decided to open up the box a little.

I also placed the nest on a chair, on top of the table… hoping that this would help. The guy was still ok (still breathing but not really moving much) by the time we called it a day, around dusk.

Related:
Father’s Day in Frankfort, 2012
July 4th in Frankfort
Julie Beeson’s Annual Plant Sale, 2014 – Frankfort, IL