Evicted!

A pair of nest-building birds, (some kind of North American Swallow or Swift?) that chose a rather unfortunate place to build home...

The little ledge they chose must have seemed ideal - south-facing and out of the wind - and the ship that it was on hadn't been anywhere for a couple of weeks already...

Little did this hapless couple know, that they had set up home on a ship that was just about to set sail across the Pacific; on a three week voyage from the West coast of Canada to Japan. NOT a good place to try to bring up a nest full of fledglings, especially if you depend on insects for your food?!

Well, luckily, they hadn't yet laid any eggs when their little nest was discovered...

It was with extremely heavy heart that I removed their lovingly crafted home and threw it into the dock, water. But sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind? Better that they were evicted and forced to build a new home somewhere else, than for them to have to abandon a nest full of fledglings to starve to death, as the ship sailed out across the Pacific Ocean...

These birds were mightily annoyed with me at the time, though - for destroying days of work and countless flights back and forth fetching bits of grass and mud.

Ever thought of putting a ledge someplace on your house for swifts and swallows to build their nests on? At least, your house isn't going anywhere soon!

Photo taken aboard c.s. Wave Venture at Victoria, B.C., Canada - May, 2007