Hatch Time!

Interestingly, this nest was built after the other Tree Swallow nest in the park nestboxes, and the eggs were laid later, yet they have hatched before the other nest's eggs. These birds hatched today and a nestling is on its way out of the egg pictured above. If you have been visiting the nestboxes, please admire from a distance so as not to upset the parents. They will be busy feeding the young for a bit.

Spooking Sparrows

 You would not be impolite to ask "What in the world is THAT?" if you have seen Nestbox #4 lately. It is sporting what is known as a "sparrow spooker;" a homemade device made to "spook" the House Sparrows which have been seen recently not far from this box. The reason we want to spook them is that they are aggressive nuisance birds, which are known to destroy eggs and kill nestlings. House Sparrows were introduced to this country in 1851.  They are not protected birds in this country and most people who manage nestboxes evict them if they are found in the boxes, or take steps such as sparrow spookers in order to deter them. As the eggs in this box have not yet hatched, we took this step to protect the eggs. Hopefully, the spooker will deter the sparrows long enough for the eggs to hatch and the birds to fledge. We watched carefully to be certain that the female swallow would accept the spooker and continue to incubate her eggs, which you can see by these photos, she did!

Swallows, of a Different Sort

 These are also swallows, but not Tree Swallows. These are Barn Swallows, which you can differentiate from Tree Swallows easily, by their color; notice the rusty color around their face, throat and to a lesser extent, their sides. Also, their blue is a different hue than that of the Tree Swallow. Barn Swallows have longer, quite noticeably forked, tails. I have posted their photos here because there have been several flying around the smaller pond each day that I have checked nestboxes, so you may notice them on your visit to the park and nestbox trail. Barn Swallows build nests from mud and grasses (notice the photo above; the swallow is sitting on the edge of the nest). They build in rafters of barns, under decks, over porches under bridges and other such structures. Go exploring and see if you can find any Barn Swallow nests! (Disclaimer: These photos are from a different location!)

Duck, duckling, duckling and more...

 These are a couple other birds which you will probably see if you visit the nestbox trail.  Above, is a female Mallard with her ducklings. The ducklings were getting out of the way of a muskrat.

This is a male Red-winged Blackbird. If you have walked through this part of the park, you have heard them singing in recent weeks. There are many males there and they all want to attract a female. They will try to outdo each others' songs and you will see them flashing their epaulets to show how attractive they are. Their song sounds like "conk-a-reeee." 

Tree Swallow Eggs

It's not easy to take photos inside a nestbox! This photo gives you an idea of what Tree Swallow eggs look like. Not the best photo, but it will do!

Visiting Hours

 Boxes 5 & 6 have had numerous visitors. In the past, I have only observed Eastern Bluebirds around the boxes. This week brought a surprise, a very brown Tree Swallow, likely a bird hatched last year, perched on the roof. A male-looking Tree Swallow was nearby, as well as a third Tree Swallow. They moved to a nearby perch as I walked by. I'll check this box soon to see if someone has taken up residence.

There are five eggs in this nestbox at last count. This is the female getting ready to leave to find some insects.The average incubation time for Tree Swallows is 14-15 days, which means soon there will be some hatchlings.

Tree Swallows Have Finished Nest

 This Tree Swallow may dive-bomb you if you walk too close to the nestbox. You will likely not get hit, but he will come close.

 This is the female peering out of the nestbox. The nest appears to be complete and she will likely start laying eggs soon.