One way a bird can get into your house is just like anyone else, through the door. I have a seasonal wreath made of twigs and twine hanging on our front door which much to my chagrin I’ve discovered these wee wren-like creatures adore. So it was just a matter of time before in through the open door the birdie soared. My husband had stepped out on the porch to fetch what Amazon left. So the bird flitted right past him barely missing his neck.
The next hour became every cat’s fantasy! Just ask our extremely vocal feline what it was like having a bird held captive on his turf! He’s usually quite useless but this day he earned his Meow Mix. When we would lose sight of the tiny feathered fowl, our fearless feline would go on point. “Over here. This way.” His chin would go up along with the fur on his back. “Look over the windows, Dummies,” he was trying to say!
On occasion the fugitive’s flight pattern would take him from the curtain rod to an artificial ficus tree. This route covered the dining room table, the surface of which fell victim to poop and feathers. It is an absolute fact that birds poop while inflight…in case you ever wondered if they might. And about that tree, my husband was heavily armed with a broom. He would poke and rattle the leaves to encourage the wayward wren to relocate. Using this method to inspire our unwanted guest to go back to its nest netted zilch. Instead, the wee sparrow (if that’s what it was) was incited to move on to the living room. With its decorative fan blades hanging from the 12-foot ceiling it was a perfect new location! And it offered floor to ceiling shelves to complicate the situation. I had plenty of fragile pieces for a bird to fly into, under, behind and on top of. Any errant landing could create a disaster for things made of plaster. Lost count of how many times that bird circled that room.
We needed a new plan! Ken fetched a tall ladder and climbed atop wielding his trusty broom. The cat indicated the bird had lit on one of the top shelves. Gingerly tapping a porcelain plate on display disturbed our winged warrior. He hopped out from behind leaving Ken a clean path for a swift swat. The sparrow lay stunned, feet up, behind the plate which had spun around now precariously teetering on the edge of the shelf. Ken scooped the poor motionless bird up scampering for the front door lest the critter wake up and take off.
At last! The bird had more or less flown the coop! Now all that was left was to clean up the poop! And, by the way, I don’t believe I mentioned that two weeks before the invasion I had all the carpets in the house cleaned…something I hadn’t done in a very, very long time. I decided to let all of the floor fallout dry to a crisp figuring it would be easier to vacuum up. Then a few days later I scheduled to get all the carpeting cleaned again!
There was a lesson to be learned from all this.
I removed the front door wreath and it isn’t even missed.
The porch is now free of the bird’s nest.
So it looks like we won’t be having any more uninvited guests!
