Lambton is Done

I checked the Lambton Tree Swallow box this morning. Actually I have passed it a few times this week as I knew it would be any day soon for the birds to leave the box. Sometime between yesterday afternoon and this morning they did. Yesterday morning there was still activity at the box and I could see an adult bird's head sticking out of the entry hole. Since I knew they were close to fledge time, I would view from a distance and leave them be.

This morning though, no birds to be seen nor heard. I still made a slow ninja-like approach to the box. It was very quiet. As I neared the box, I caught a whiff of something... dead bird. I placed my hand over the hole even though I was certain it was empty of any living birds, and I tapped the side with my screwdriver. Nothing. Even as I began to open the box, I still kept my free hand over the hole just in case. The smell was stronger now and flies began to fly out of the nest.

I pull out the nest and I see there is one dead juvenile Swallow. He's been dead for a number of days now judging by his size and the decay. I had a moment of sadness for him but reminded myself his brothers and sisters made it out.

I decided to lift his body and inspect the nest further. It was after this I found one of his siblings dead beneath him. This one died early on as you can see the difference between the two. Damn!

Who knows what the cause was for either birds' death? It's best not to think too hard into it now since there was no obvious signs to anything.

I cleaned the box out, setting the little ones in the grass, knowing what is left of them will feed other things. The nest remains will deteriorate and blow away over time.

Three out of five young Swallows successfully fledged. That's moderate success for the first season of having a couple boxes on this slope in the Lambton area. It keeps me in check too, since I had a fantastic 12 for 12 fledged birds in the Forgotten Land this year. Area One is up next and I know it's going to be full of ups and downs.

As you can see from this blog entry, cleaning out the nest boxes is important. It may not matter to some people what nests inside; how many fledged, how many died. But over time, of not cleaning them out, imagine what the inside of the box turns into? If I am able to educate and influence one person to do something with a neglected nest box trail they know about (even if it means taking the boxes down), or is planning on setting up a few boxes somewhere, then this nest blog has been worth it. Taking care of the boxes helps take care of the birds.

Forgotten Land - Success

On June 26th I checked the nest boxes in the Forgotten Land. Success sums it up nicely. Both nests are empty now. All the young have fledged. 7 from one box and 5 from the other.

As you can see, no birds got left behind from the nest of 7. I cleaned out the box but that may not be it for this box though. A pair of adult Tree Swallows were swooping my head. I'm not sure if it's the same pair possibly going to nest again or ??? I've been told it's unlikely the same would do a 2nd nest. There is another box very near here but it's still empty. I will check back in a couple weeks just because.

The nest of 5 now empty.

No birds got left behind here either.

I've always got my gloves come this chore of cleaning them out. I really should get a mask too. I do my best to not be in the face of the wind though as I am sure breathing in fecal dust isn't good for the lungs. Thank goodness for having a long arm reach! Sometimes I use a stick but not today, just my gloved hand.

I also cleaned out the abandoned nest.

The Forgotten Land didn't generate the excitement like it did last year. Just because the Bluebirds did not come back, doesn't make this spot any less special. Tree Swallows count too! I expect to up my nest count here in 2019 as I intend to turn my plan into a reality this fall.

I recently did a very short entry regarding something from Area One but never shared it. For anyone reading my adventures who wait for my public posts, here is the link. It may help fill in something with my next follow up coming next week.

Repair

Quick note, earlier this week I went to Area One and attached a plastic plate to the one box I mentioned in my last blog. It had been predated and all 6 eggs were removed. I figure the chewed up entry hole allowed something easier access to the nest. Upon this visit though, I noticed much of the nest material was on the ground (it was still in the box my previous visit). So whoever returned for another have at the nest, or possibly another predator. I suspect a bird, like a Grackle or Blue Jay, may be the culprit this time. The t-bar here is heavily greased.

I have my doubts the Swallows will try again here this season; none were seen this time unlike just days before when the adults were swooping my head. I will be happy to be proven wrong though.

Stay tuned!

Area One Hatches

On Friday June 15th I set out to do a round check of all 21 boxes at Area One. I prefer to try to do this area on the weekend since it takes me a while to do this walk but with the oncoming 40 c humidex, I went before work. I figure if the walk is going to burn me out, may as well do it on the last day of the work week.

It was an adventure along with some misadventure near the end as you will see.

The first box I checked, which only had 1 egg last visit, still remains with just one single egg. The adult birds were not impressed with my box inspection and swooped my head. This is way below average for egg numbers with nesting Tree Swallows.

My next box check... hatches! Young Tree Swallows I could just make out with a cell phone photo above the nest.

Onward to the next box. That Wren nest I previously thought was a dummy nest is well on it's way with a nest now. An adult bird flew out of the box as I approached. I may have mentioned already but the Wren nests I am going to leave be, only noting they nested. I find it much too difficult (and invasive) to get in there and count the eggs. I will make note of any finds when cleaning these boxes out later in the Summer.

From here on, it was a slew of Tree Swallow hatches in most of the boxes. I started using my phone right at the entry holes and gaps in the Guild style instead of opening the boxes unless I sensed something was wrong in a box. The time I spent at each box was less. The adult birds were still agitated nonetheless and even teamed up on me in one field area where 5 boxes are located.

An odd discovery in one box, which had 6 eggs, was me only finding one good sized young Swallow. There was a bit of a stench coming from within and I suspect other hatches did not make it. I pondered digging deeper but decided to leave things be. I would have to pull the whole nest out for a better look. It wouldn't be an easy task as I would have to hold this bird with one hand and make a real mess with my other. I made my notes and continued on.

A pleasant surprise in another box I assumed was abandoned now has 3 eggs! Perhaps it was abandoned by one pair and later taken over by another pair? Will we get more eggs? Stay tuned.

A lot of the hatches are many days old already. When I come out again over the Canada Day long weekend, I expect most to be fledged by then. I'm not very good with aging the birds. I always worry about early fledges when opening the boxes at this stage. I see young birds with their heads out of the nest holes, to me that's a sign their time to fly is coming soon. So my new tactic of not opening the boxes and snapping pics from the entries helps ensure I won't have any early fledges. The young birds drop right back into the nest boxes as soon as they see me, even from a distance. As you can see in some of the photos, it's getting a little crammed in the nests now. I should add that I don't linger, trying for a great picture at any box. A couple shots, I have a look, add some notes in my book, and onward I go to the next box

The former Chickadee nest box now has a Wren nest inside. I am wondering if it was Wrens that destroyed the Chickadee nest? It was less then 2 weeks ago that I cleaned out the Chickadee nest and now we have this.

A disappointing discovery in the old box I learned about this year is that the 6 Tree Swallow eggs got predated by something. The adult birds were swooping my head as I opened it up. All I saw was an empty nest. Some time ago (years?) the entry hole to this box was chewed open somewhat, most likely by a Squirrel. This enlarged opening could have helped something take those eggs out. You may, or may not be surprised to know that this box was set up by the same organization who set up the boxes in the Forgotten Land. It's tucked away, well off the paths, which is why I never knew about it until I was shown it this Spring. Proof once again that people setting up nest boxes and then forgetting about them does not help the birds.

I was given some plastic covers which will help prevent Squirrels chewing open the entry holes. I am going to try and attach one to this box, if it can screw on with what's left of the entry area. Since the adults are still here, they may try to nest again. This could help them with their second attempt. The humidity is supposed to break after today (June 18th), so I am aiming to be up there one morning soon to take care of this.

I'm in the home stretch now. The Love Shack is not being used this year. There is a lot of construction happening just to the north of the box which may be part of the reason the nest that was in process got abandoned. Alfie's box, the young Swallows are doing well, and thankfully we do not have an ant issue this year. The last 2 boxes, one being another Swallow nest, the kids look great from what I could tell. I observed the parents bringing food in so it was another box I only checked with a cell photo.

Lastly, the House Sparrow nest box. My previous visit almost 2 weeks earlier, I noticed the parents bringing food in. I opted to give them peace that morning and not inspect. Obviously things were going well.

This visit, I heard nothing and I saw nothing. I tried for a cell photo to see inside and got no signs of anything but nest material. I lightly tapped on the box with my screwdriver, still nothing. No adults were around scolding me. I assumed they were done nesting, and the young had fledged.

I unscrew the access door and open it up. Suddenly out comes a young Sparrow, going over my shoulder, flying about 10 ft and then drops into the grass. I know it's only a House Sparrow, but I'm yelling "FUCK" in my head. I have to turn my eyes away from where he landed so I could close the door and not have any others take an early flight. Yes, there was at least one other bird inside.

With the door shut, I turn and look back to the grass and I cannot see the Sparrow. I'm 2nd guessing where I think the bird landed since it was all just grass. Of course in those few seconds it took me to screw that door shut, the bird could have moved. I didn't hear any chirping. I didn't see any movement. The grass fairly long so I have to really watch my step as I start my search for the bird. How clever of him to stay very quiet while this giant scary thing (me) hunted him.

I picked up a stick and started brushing the top of the grass, hoping this would flush the bird. So far nothing. I next think to play a House Sparrow call from my phone. Perhaps that might get something out of him? Nope. This is not how I expected to end my walk today. About 10 minutes later I finally spot him. I quickly reach down and place my hand over him. I cup him with my other hand and bring him home. In the box he goes and now in comes dad. He's nattering away at me. but I am done, and back off. I bet he was proud of himself, scaring the giant away like he did. After the fact, I thought I should have taken a photo of the young bird for the blog, but getting him home was my priority and taking a picture never crossed my mind. I can say that judging by the looks of that bird, fledging was going to happen very soon. Still, I'd rather him fledge when he was ready to and not because of me.

So in Area One we've had 73 Tree Swallow eggs to date through 14 nests. I'm disappointed that we lost the one nest with 6 eggs. Still, we are doing better than the last 2 years of monitoring; even though this is not a competition by any means.

My next visit is slated to be over the July long weekend. As mentioned, I expect most of the birds to be fledged by then.

As always, thank you to those who are once again following me on this nest box monitoring blog.

Forgotten Land Hatches

Today, June 14th, I checked the two active nests in the Forgotten Land. Both are Tree Swallow nests. One box had 5 eggs and one had 7. Both boxes are now full of baby Swallows! With my quick observation, I was not able to get a full head count, and for the time being will assume all have hatched. I don't feel it's necessary to poke around in the boxes as all the young look very healthy and the smell of "bird death" is not emitting from either box. I discussed this unique smell in a blog from last year. All I can tell you if this is new to you, it's unforgettable.

One of the boxes I am blessed to be able to look inside the entrance hole without even opening the box. I wish more of the boxes happened to be set up like this. This is the one where I had 5 eggs.

The other box, where the 7 eggs were, is a little more difficult to view in, so I use my phone, holding it over the nest and take a couple photos. If I tried harder, I could have gotten a better shot of the young, but once again, just don't feel it's necessary. I'm sure the birds prefer less disturbance.

The fun thing about this box is it is in front of a patch of reeds, if that is what they are called, where Red-winged Blackbirds are nesting.

So while I have a pair of angry Tree Swallow parents swooping my head, there is also the even more aggressive Red-wings. This would be quite the visual for any passerby.

Let's wish these (probably) 12 young birds the best as they continue to grow in these boxes and all hopefully fledge in a few more weeks!

There was a third potential nest, but it's safe to say that it has been abandoned.

I do see more than 2 pairs of Tree Swallows flying around and I wonder where they are nesting. I still aim to add 4 boxes for 2019. Maybe they will be home to more?

Next up will be another round of checks at Area One, hopefully tomorrow, as it's been almost a full 2 weeks since my last visit.

Lambton Hatches

Great news. We have hatches in the Tree Swallow nest box at the Lambton site!

I checked in about 8 days ago. Momma was inside and would not budge so I snapped a quick photo with my phone and closed up the box. It's always interesting to look at a Tree Swallow nest, noting the feathers they find to line the nest. Like here, top right corner is a Duck feather although I'm not sure the species.

I decided to check in today, June 13, and 4 young Swallows were looking out at me. I am sure there was 5 eggs so hopefully a fifth bird is hiding under them; but there's the possibility of a no hatch with the last egg. We shall see later in the Summer when I clean out the box.

I am very happy about this success since it was only a few months ago that I set up this box. One nest out of three boxes is nothing to complain about.

I will be visiting the Forgotten Land tomorrow, so stay tuned for another update.

Cheers!

Defeating Moment

Recently I met my friend in Area One. We planned to tag the boxes in the main field.

We started our trek by stopping at the Chickadee nest box. If you didn't catch my recent update about Area One, I was pretty stoked that we had this bird species using a nest box. They had 7 eggs and 4 already hatched. We tagged the nest box and had a peek inside. I was hoping to see all 7 little ones now hatched. To my shock, all were gone except one egg, which was lost in the mossy material. What happened?

We can only guess. Raccoon? Red Squirrel? Chipmunk? We will never know for certain. The pole was greased so whoever it was, had determination to get to the nest. We looked for signs of greasy paw prints on the box but none were to be seen. Weird. I should have taken a couple photos with my phone but didn't. I think I was too in shock and upset at this discovery. I made my notes. My friend closed up the door. We talked briefly about this and then carried on.

That's the thing with monitoring nest boxes, or watching anything to do with nature, it's harsh out there and things happen. It's a constant fight for survival with all animals, and most often there is always something bigger and hungry they have to be on the look out for. I know this. I accept this. It was a defeating moment nonetheless.

A few days later I returned. I cleaned out the box. That last egg had since become a snack to some creature as it was broken open now.

I attached a metal ring to the entry hole, this would reduce the size of the hole to allow a Chickadee getting in, but not a bigger bird. It may also deter some mammals too. I probably should have done this ASAP instead of days later. I don't live that close to Area One where I can go back and forth as much as I would like with my spare time. I'm not faulting myself here but I can't help but feel a little bad about what happened. There is some responsibility to putting up nest boxes. One of the reasons I do a nest blog is to help educate others. It's surprising to me how many are following my nest blog. I've met a number of new people this Spring who talk to me about it almost immediately. I have much to learn still, finer details which I may share in time. It's cool that maybe a few followers will learn from me and with me throughout.

Lastly, this box is one of a couple that did not have a screw locking the access door in place. It was only a bent nail one could slide back and forth. I put a screw in. I don't think that had anything to do with what happened but it's always been a bother to me, knowing anyone could easily open these boxes and peek inside (or do who knows what). I've since done this to a couple other boxes I monitor.

I highly doubt the Chickadees will come back and try again. We can hope. If nothing else, it will be ready for another pair, another year. We were more than happy to give up this box for them. We may add a couple new boxes more suiting for Chickadees than the Swallows next year.

A few years ago we had Black-capped Chickadees nest in a box in our backyard, actually it happened three times. I was lucky enough to be home the one morning when 5 young Chickadees fledged. It is something I will never forget. Even now as I key this last paragraph, I can see them coming out, I can hear them all. I blogged about it, and you can see it here if you have time for one more read.