I don't even know how to get back on track with the nest blog. Just like that, the season is almost over. If you follow my other blogs, you know why things fell apart.
Okay, for starts, I have a new Tree Swallow nest at the Forgotten Land. On July 12th I went to check the vandalized box where eggs were stolen and 2 remained. I knew if the eggs were still inside, that was it for them, they were not going to hatch. I was right, the eggs still sat in the nest. I cleaned out the box, tossing the nest into the grass along with the eggs.
I figured since I was there, I would check the other boxes. All were empty except for one box which is roughly 100 ft or so away from the vandalized box. An adult Swallow flew out. I put my phone to the entry hole and got a photo of 4 eggs inside. This was a nice little compensation of sorts after all the losses here in the Forgotten Land. I still had my grease bucket in the car so I greased the hell out of that post, then walked away, sending my best wishes to this last nest of 2019. I intend on checking this box again later in the coming week, hoping the intense heat and humidity did not mess anything up. I do wonder if it is the same pair from the vandalized box, trying to nest in a different box?
As of right now, the Forgotten Land has had 6 Swallows fledge. Fingers crossed we make it 10 in a few more weeks.
Moving on over to Lambton. So far the Chickadees have not re-nested even though they recently excavated the box after I refilled it with wood chips. I have my doubts now but I will still keep an eye on the box. As for the one Tree Swallow nest...
a neat photo I took in the last days of this nest being active.
All 5 young Swallows successfully fledged. I cleaned out the box and inspected the others just in case there may have been another surprise (which there wasn't).
That makes for 11 fledged Tree Swallows between the two nest sites.
Now let's go to the Creek. Six nests and I'm going with a fair guess of 32 eggs laid; I was not able to get a full count from every nest but with what I saw throughout, this is a close number. All hatched and 30 Swallows fledged. I had the sad discovery of finding two dead Swallows throughout. This happens, that's just the way it is. Not every bird makes it out of the nest for whatever reason. Hence the importance of cleaning the boxes after the birds are done.
Angie and I walk this spot every Sunday so we were able to see the birds regularly, going from the days of nest building right to seeing a tree full of fledged Tree Swallows. Angie said to me, "You did that. Those are your babies." I cannot deny that it warmed my heart and put a smile on my face.
With so many bird species in the area, of course we chance upon other newly fledged birds like this adorable young Warbling Vireo.
I am happy to report that Patty's House was a total success. All 5 fledged. I think at some point in the next week or two I will do a blog specifically about her house.
A young Swallow in Patty's House. This was on Canada Day. When I see the young at this stage, heads out of the box, I stay well away. I do not want to cause an early fledge. The birds don't need me poking around in the box or even getting close to it.
Other cool sightings on Canada Day included this Deer.
And this Monarch caterpillar.
Now we are up to 41 fledged Swallows from 8 nests. That's pretty good. Note the tragedies at The Forgotten Land are pretty much that, forgotten about. Nature does not dwell on such things and neither should we entirely. Next year I will do better about making sure no old box has easy access for anyone or anything, and every box is very secure to the t-posts.
Area One is all that is left to check aside from that surprise nest in the Forgotten Land. Area One will be a challenge while we are in such an extreme heat wave. Also with all the rain we've had, the growth is ridiculous. The wild parsnip is really wild this summer and I would rather not get burned. So I await a cooler day where I can cover myself completely. Hopefully that isn't too far away.
