4031 Bird Begone!

Monday, April 6, 2015

There's a pair of birds who have decided to build a nest in the exhaust vent for my clothes dryer.  Birds tried last year, too, but I foiled them by making sure the flap was closed all the time.  It tends to stick open after I've dried a load, so I whack it with a mop handle to close it.

This pair however has learned to open the flap, so when I hear them scrabbling around in the tube, (in the kitchen ceiling), I run the dryer to chase them out, and blow out the sticks and grass they had taken in.  We've been battling for three days now, and they haven't given up yet.

I have some plastic netting with holes small enough to keep birds out, and large enough to not obstruct lint or whatever, and duct tape to stick it over the vent, but it has been so windy I didn't want to climb a ladder.  The vent cover is about 10 feet up, so I have to use the big ladder.

Looks like today is the day.

I don't know what kind of birds they are.  The male and female look alike, both about the size of a robin.  The head is dark black, and the body is a slightly lighter black.  Beak and legs are yellow.  At first I thought they might be grackles, but they're a bit small for grackles, and they have shorter tails that taper to a point.  There doesn't seem to be any white on them anywhere, and no iridescence that I can see.

Any birders out there who can identify them?  Whatever they are, they're pretty smart, but not easily discouraged.
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