Tap, Tap, Tap, Who's There?

Last week was one just of those weeks, where we felt like we were going in circles. Spring was really in the air, with temperatures way above our highs, in fact setting several days on record with temps of 14-16C.


Everything seems to come out ... Sitting in the living room I would hear every so often this tap, tap, tap. It would stop and then start up again. I had a feeling I knew what it was having experienced something the same last year. A bird had come down our chimney and was caught in the fire box! Not having yet cleaned the glass nor removed the ashes from our February fires I couldn't visually see in without opening the door. You could hear a bit of wing flutter as it would go back up on top of the fire box.


Last year we went through a production of trying to free the bird in the same situation. I contacted our chimney cleaning company for guidance, friends offered suggestions, all which lead to getting out our the sheets we use to cover our plants in the fall when frost is called for, stretching them over the entrance all in attempt to capture/wrap it up when it flies out. Didn't work, it ended up flying out the side, hitting the window then resting on the far kitchen cabinets. A broom was then used, which the bird got onto and I slowly directed towards our patio doors and hoping it would take flight out the door of our screened in deck area. That worked AOK.


So, let's forget all the props, just open the doors and wait ... didn't take long and out it flew,


hitting the windows a few times ... it rested on the window sill ...
then easily found its way to the patio door and flew out the porch door. There it rested, fluffed itself a few times, made some calling sounds and was gone.


I am still not sure what kind of bird it is. There is one called a Chimney Swift, commonly known for this spring behaviour as it looks for nesting areas, but it appears to be a much smaller bird with a smaller beak. This one from my books looks like a European Starling.


On the same theme of what spring brings out ... mornings are still cools so I was wearing a mock turkle neck, and hoodie sweat and a light jacket ... pretty much covered, no? I go into the "Canine Suite" to let our pregnant girls out and all of a sudden feel something touch, kinda 'pinch' the back of my neck/shoulders. I wack my upper back in reaction. Get the girls out and feel another 'pinch'! Ouch, this is more like a 'bite'. So I rip off all my layers and don't I find a hornet or wasp (I never know the difference) attached inside my top! These will guys come out, especially here in the country when the weather warms up, but are pretty 'groggy'. They usually don't 'attack' us. Guess I was in the wrong spot at the wrong time, as this guy lost flying ability. He bit me at least 3 x & I developed large hard whelts that were itchy! TG no other reactions.