Was just out in the garden pulling some weeds out and noticed a baby HouseMartin crawling along the ground!!
So i took it in the house (locked the cats away first) and checked it out. Then noticed this really weird insect crawling all over it. Then it went on me and back on the chick. So i thought I would try and get it off and this proved to be near impossible. This thing was very skilled at clinging on, and then when I got it off and stamped on it on the floor, it was still moving. Like it was indestructable. Then to my horror, there was another one on the chick!!!!!!
In the end got it off and killed it too.
So, what to do with a baby housemartin? I thought the best thing was to try and get it back in its nest.
Shuffled past the cats with chick in hand, and put the chick down on the spare bed whilst I opened the windows and found a nest with birds in. Now they looked like adults but the other nests seemed empty so i thought i'd go for the nest with birds in. One adult flew out past me but the other tucked itself in. Then with a bit of gentle persuasion, i managed to get it back in the nest. Hope it survives! Goit some video footage so going to upload it to youtube shortly.
Think the insect may have been like a tick?
So i took it in the house (locked the cats away first) and checked it out. Then noticed this really weird insect crawling all over it. Then it went on me and back on the chick. So i thought I would try and get it off and this proved to be near impossible. This thing was very skilled at clinging on, and then when I got it off and stamped on it on the floor, it was still moving. Like it was indestructable. Then to my horror, there was another one on the chick!!!!!!
In the end got it off and killed it too.
So, what to do with a baby housemartin? I thought the best thing was to try and get it back in its nest.
Shuffled past the cats with chick in hand, and put the chick down on the spare bed whilst I opened the windows and found a nest with birds in. Now they looked like adults but the other nests seemed empty so i thought i'd go for the nest with birds in. One adult flew out past me but the other tucked itself in. Then with a bit of gentle persuasion, i managed to get it back in the nest. Hope it survives! Goit some video footage so going to upload it to youtube shortly.
Think the insect may have been like a tick?