David and I are still hard at work on the barn. We are about 3/4 of the way through our project. We're completely done with Boomer and Ben's former stalls. We power washed everything, stained the wood in the stalls, and sanded and repainted the runs. We moved Reggie and Paj to the finished stalls, and now we're about halfway done with their stalls and runs.
In the midst of all this cleanup, I removed a sweet little nest from a ledge in the barn. We actually had two nests in the barn, but the one on the trusses is occupied. It's where the barn swallows are raising their third set of babies this year. I don't know whether it's the same pair or not, but regardless, it's baby bunch number three. Of course we are being careful not to disturb them.
The other nest has been vacant since late spring.
The fuzzy material is alpaca fiber from the neighbor's alpacas.
The thread-like fibers are horse hairs from Clydesdale feathers.
The builder of this cozy little nest was a Say's Phoebe.
Wikipedia will tell you that it's a "drab, chunky" bird.
Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
To me, it's a pretty little thing,
a fierce flycatcher, and most welcome.
Wikipedia will also tell you that its habitat is
"dry, desolate and arid landscapes".
Hmph.
