Blue varmint?

**Michael Thomas** · 02-26-2011, 06:14 PM

Found this today in an attic - could not get any closer (stuck my camera through an opening to get these shots), the structure to the left is a skylight soffit above a bathroom, the attic is about 4' high at the peak.

A large "nest" of straw like material extended for 4-5 feet along the floor, above that was a portion of truss web covered with blue "fur".

WTF?

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**John Arnold** · 02-26-2011, 06:27 PM

Appears to be the rare blue variant of the dreaded Norwegian Roof Beaver.

**Nick Ostrowski** · 02-26-2011, 06:29 PM

Tee hee.....beaver.....tee hee

**John Arnold** · 02-26-2011, 06:41 PM

Nick, please. This is a serious varmint discussion.

Maybe you need to brush up on your varmint science at nearby Arcadia University. (inside joke)

**Nick Ostrowski** · 02-26-2011, 07:18 PM

That school must have had a real complex about that name to change it.

**JB Thompson** · 02-27-2011, 08:35 PM

In my best Cliff Claven voice:

It's a little known fact that the Norwegian Roof Beaver invented the game of basketball.

**Egbert Jager** · 02-27-2011, 10:49 PM

I think that was the Canadian Roof Beaver....

**Bill Hetner** · 02-28-2011, 04:02 AM

Yes it was the Canadain Roof Beaver who was involved with basketball. It's a not well know Canadain fun fact!!

Tim Mcgill · 02-28-2011, 04:08 AM

I'll bet that's a 'possum.
I can just see it hanging there scraping against the webbing.
Ugly mug, isn't it?
-t

**James Harlow** · 02-28-2011, 11:56 AM

Michael,
I have seen similar cases where Starlings or Black Birds brought in the straw to build a nest. It is amazing how much straw they can bring in. The blue fur is a fiberglass mat used in a shingle over ridge vent to prevent weather intrusion (snow). In the past they used a sponge type of material for end caps and sometimes they blew out or were easily removed by the birds. I have used hardware cloth formed to fit inside the end to prevent the entry of birds. You have to make sure there are no birds in the attic when you cover the opening. It also works for the roof beavers as well. The link below has a pretty good picture of the ridge vent and the mat material I am referring to.
Jim
Air Vent: Hip Ridge Vent

**John Kogel** · 02-28-2011, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by James Harlow

Michael,
I have seen similar cases where Starlings or Black Birds brought in the straw to build a nest. It is amazing how much straw they can bring in. The blue fur is a fiberglass mat used in a shingle over ridge vent to prevent weather intrusion (snow).

I was going to say, that could be Blue Jay's fur, but that would be Canadian baseball, not basketball.

BTW, what is basketball? Do you run with a ball in a basket? We call that Lacrosse!

Yes, birds, especially starlings, are often the builders of those straw piles. I believe the roof beavers have no choice but to employ members of the nest builder's union for all their nesting jobs.