Update picture on the baby birds, they did have a nest of sorts as you can see I took this one while they were relaxing. They look like little wrens in this photo, but the mother looked like a purple finch from the bird book that I looked at. At any rate they have now left the nest so I don’t have to worry about losing another one and that makes me happy.
I need to clean out the mess that they left behind in my evergreen and when I say mess that is exactly what I mean. It’s rather yucky and I certainly hope that bird doesn’t make a habit of returning every year. It was rather creepy all the noise from the mother as she watched over her young to scare everything away. The noise at times made me feel like the birds were indeed coming.
I love nature and I love to watch it, but not right outside my back door because I never know what will happen with my 2 dogs. I am now worried that a skunk is somewhere near because lately if I go outside around 3 in the morning I can smell a skunk and that’s all I need to have one in my back yard when I let the dogs out and have one of them get sprayed…Yuck
I know nothing about skunks, but I have heard that bathing in milk or tomato sauce will help neutralize the odor, but I certainly don’t want to find out if that’s true. Just felt like dropping in a quick update before we take a ride. Have a safe and happy 4th and enjoy the fireworks later.
If Purple Finches are anything like House Finches in how they raise their babies, they ARE terribly messy and will keep coming back to that same nest. I have a pair that is getting ready to start their 4th clutch of the year on my front porch. I honestly don’t remember them doing this last year — 2 clutches was it.
Skunk smell is not easy to get off and just tomato juice won’t do the entire trick. There’s some kind of recipe I see posted on the dog lists that includes dawn dish soap and hydrogen peroxide (making sure it’s very fresh HP).
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Thanks Margaret for your insights it’s very much appreciated.