Donation!

I had some news to share a little while ago but didn't want to share until I was done posting about all the nest sites and totals for the 2020 season.  I also wanted to wait until I actually had the surprise to share...

One good thing to come out of this pandemic was some projects being canceled with nature groups and I was given 6 new nest boxes to replace all the boxes at The Forgotten Land.

Some assembly required as you can see.  Perhaps some exterior paint and roof shingles to finish them off.  I put one together today before going to work.

Come next spring I will be quite anxious to see the birds return.

I had some company during assembly of the first box.  One of our local squirrels who I call "Zombie" was my little helper.  Sure he was just bumming for peanuts but he made the work here a little more entertaining even though it ended up taking twice as long.

You can see in his eye why I call him Zombie.  It's a creamy blue colour and in lay man's terms it is dead.  He first appeared with this eye condition back in late January.  He looked pretty rough and I called into Toronto Wildlife even though I knew what they were going to say.  There is no fixing his eye wound.  If I brought him in, they would euthanize him.  He seemed to be managing with one eye so I let him be to live out his life, and maybe get a little help from us where possible with a hand out.

He has a huge disadvantage being blind in one eye but is still doing well almost 9 months later.  He gets a few peanuts, some sunflower chip, when we see him.  He's definitely become an individual in the yard now and not just another squirrel.

Anyway, it's great to get these boxes and I will have them ready for the birds over the next few months.  A big shout out to a man by the name of Tyson from the organization for donating the boxes to the area.  All he asks in return is updates on what is happening there during nesting season.

Future box assembly will have to be done inside the house.  Merry didn't like seeing me out in the yard with some other furry creature doing stuff; Angie said she cried her head off at the window looking out to me.  She loves to be a part of whatever I do.

Here she is on me after I came back inside.  What a sucky girl!

I know I have at least one more blog to key out soon which deals with another area I discovered that is not being monitored.  I hope to have that published soon.

Thanks for stopping in.  Cheers!

Area One and Final Tally

 A long overdue blog about Area One and the final number(s).  Blame the blazing hot summer.  Blame some health issues on my end NOT covid-19 related.  Blame covid which has my wife working from home and tying up the computer much of the day.  Excuses excuses excuses.  But here we are finally...

I estimated that we had 70 eggs in total up at Area One.

In my cleaning of the boxes, I found overall 3 deceased young Tree Swallows that did not make it.  I also found 2 eggs not hatched.  So that makes for 65 fledged birds.  It was a very good year.

Coming to clean the boxes weeks after the birds are done, finding deceased young wasn't like finding a whole body as insects already devoured the birds.  There would be a bed of feathers and in those feathers I would find the skeletal remains.

Here's a nest I am about to clean out.

Here is what I found inside.  You can see some bones.  I would use a stick to pick these nests apart, doing head counts from the skulls that I found.  For some reason I cannot find a photo of a bird skull from this outing.  You get the picture though.

We are facing challenges in Area One now as the meadow is becoming quite over grown.  The pandemic is one part to blame, having less staff and volunteers to try and tackle this issue.  Currently it would seem this part of the land is not of such importance, taking a back seat to large maintenance projects elsewhere about the property.  It is becoming a haven for House Wrens.  I found 4 active nests and numerous dummy nests.  

I found 1 Wren egg not hatched so they too had a great nesting year.  

This can mean that in 2021 they will be back even stronger especially as the habitat becomes more favourable to this bird species.

I had a difficult time locating a few of the nest boxes in the tall growth which was well over 5 ft tall.  From this view point, normally I would be able to see 4 nest boxes.

It was a cooler morning when I did the box inspections and cleaning but after some time, I was getting overheated as I was dressed head to toe, protecting myself from insects and random toxic plants (wild parsnip).  The face mask is to protect me from breathing in the dust, fecal matter and anything else that can come out of one of these nest boxes during cleaning.

I did evict one mouse from his house he set up in a box.  Their urine and feces can be harmful to the box and future nests.  He made a brave attempt at scaring the hell out of me when he took a flying leap right out and at me.  Ha ha, good times.  I did apologize to him as he scurried away.

Mouse nesting material.

I left the nest boxes open to deter the mice from setting up house.  Unfortunately over the cold months, some do gooder(s) will chance upon these boxes and close them up again.  I can't get upset; it is better than someone coming along and smashing them like some other people have experienced on their nest box trails.

Now for the final tally of my 2020 season...

131 successfully fledged Tree Swallows.  There was 28 nests and 147 eggs.

How's that for a banner year?  I really hoped to break 100 this year and certainly did.  Still no Bluebirds despite every location seeing them over the years.  Maybe 2021?

I will be blogging here again well before the next nesting season.  I do have one nice surprise to tell about soon.

I would like to give a shout out to Jennifer for following me again this season and commenting throughout.  I haven't pushed out these nest blogs like I do my regular animal blog and it's nice to know they have not gone ignored.  There is a visit counter to each blog and most of the 2020 nest blogs show 1 to 3 hits total.  Of course I don't do this for the attention or recognition but it is nice to know of others who care and have interest in nest box trails, having their own boxes to take care of, or just follow me along on mine.

Stay tuned for some great news soon.  Oh, and stay safe!

The Creek - Lone Swallow

 We made it back over to the Creek recently and I checked the box that had that lone Swallow chick.  Great news.  He fledged!

As you can see, I cleaned out the nest box, scrapping the fecal sacs off the inside walls, etc.

So I am up to 66 fledged with Area One still to be inspected.

The Creek Tally

A couple weeks ago I did a sweep of the Creek nest boxes. Nine nest boxes and seven had Tree Swallows. At the time there was 39 eggs. I figured a couple more could come of there but I never did bother looking again. I was happy with the activity and left it at that.

Through the box checks, I unfortunately found 2 dead young birds in separate boxes. I also found 2 eggs not hatched in other boxes. Overall though, a very good year in the Creek with 35 fledged Tree Swallows.

But it's not over yet. A week earlier when Angie and I went for our Sunday morning walk there, I noticed Tree Swallows going to a previously unclaimed box. I was going to check the empty boxes anyway come cleaning time and this new nest was a bit of excitement to inspect the following week.

Here is what I found when I checked this new nest, one healthy very young Tree Swallow. There were no other eggs.

We had just endured a brutally humid week and I am happy he survived it. I cannot imagine how hot it must get inside those boxes during the heat and full sun.

I will check on this nest again in a couple weeks. Stay tuned.

So with 9 fledged Swallows in Lambton, plus the 21 over at the Forgotten Land and 35 here at the Creek I'm now at 65 fledged.

Area One is yet to be checked but hopefully soon.

Lambton Tally

So here we go with the final counts for the Lambton area.

With 6 nest boxes set up, I ended up with 2 nests of Tree Swallows. Both had 5 eggs each. All 10 eggs hatched. Of the 10 birds, 9 fledged. I was saddened to discover one deceased young bird in one of the nests.

The second Swallow nest was a surprise late find and as the leaves filled in the surrounding trees, this nest box disappeared. 

Can you spot the nest?

It was fun to watch the adults still make their way into the nest to care for the young.

Both nests were cleaned out of fecal sacs, nesting material and the one dead bird.

I almost forgot about a lone box I set up last year in my plan to help those Black-capped Chickadees nest without hassle from a House Wren. Well, the Wren(s) nested successfully in the box this year. A couple weeks ago I flushed an adult when I approached the box. I could hear young inside. Next visit, all were gone. I cleaned that nest out as well.

So with 9 fledged Swallows here plus the 21 over at the Forgotten Land I've got 30 fledged from 37 eggs so far.

The brutal humidex is not making this an easy task but I don't want to leave it too long.

Nest up will be the Creek. Stay tuned.

Forgotten Land 2020 Tally

I recently did a walk through the Forgotten Land, knowing the birds would be done in all the nest boxes.

Sure enough, that was the case and here is what is what I ended up with, including a slight recap for anyone just jumping on board with the nest blog.

5 of the 6 nest boxes were occupied with Tree Swallows.

I had 27 eggs total throughout. I suspected I could get one or two more but was content to leave the birds be at that point.

4 of the 5 nests were 100% success. All eggs hatched. All young fledged.

1 nest was abandoned, leaving 6 unhatched eggs. Who knows what happened?

So, for 2020, I had 21 fledged Tree Swallows in the Forgotten Land. That's a very good year, especially compared to 2019 with 6 fledged from one nest and the other 3 nests were all failures.

Unfortunately most of the boxes saw their last year. They were falling apart in my hands as I opened them up to clean them out. These boxes are easily a decade and some years old and the wood is brittle. I knew this would happen at some point. I am just happy they held out for the season. Losing the box I called "old reliable" did bother me a tad; it's been a great productive box every year.

I have many months to get some replacements and hopefully it will be with as little cost to me as possible. I have since contacted "the organization" about getting some through them. I like to think the success of 2020 would entice some new interest.

Instead of throwing a bunch of photos in here, I made a small collage of that walk through the area.

The coins I found along one of the foot trails. A small payment for my good deeds.

Explosion!

Well I have to say that I am in awe at what has been going on at my nest boxes. Explosion does sum it up.

First off, The Forgotten Land. Five of the six nest boxes now with Tree Swallow nests and all full of eggs. This is more than ever before. This is uplifting after the awful nest season last year. Currently there are 27 eggs throughout and that number could still go up.

Tree Swallow in "Old Reliable". I REALLY like this photo. What a face! I took a very similar picture last year.

I moved the green box that I had left as a memorial to where the Bluebirds nested to a more open spot and Swallows took to it.

I am thrilled with all these nests. Moving the boxes away from the sports field was a great thing. I really hope this will encourage a certain organization to invest in the area for next year, and replacing these very old nest boxes.

Over at Lambton, a 2nd Swallow nest is on the go. Both have 5 eggs. I will settle for a total of 10 though a couple more eggs is possible before it's all done.

A Wren nest was started in a lone box I set up for them last year but I think it's turning out to be a dummy nest.

The Creek has really exploded as well. There are seven nests out of the nine boxes set up. Egg total is at 39 and again that number could go up as well.

A Tree Swallow on nest. The bird flew out after I closed the box door, which is when I could count the eggs.

Six eggs. Nice. Just slightly above average counts.

While Tree Swallow nests are easy to identify, some look different than others. This is one is a deep nest and there is an adult bird in there. Other Tree Swallow nests are not as elaborate but there's always a few feathers lining the top.

Between these three areas there are 14 Tree Swallow nests and 76 eggs.

I did a sweep of Area One on June 01 and can add another 13 Tree Swallow nests with 70 eggs. Some of the eggs hatched already and one box in particular, I chanced upon seeing Tree Swallows REALLY freshly hatched. This box is Wood Duck Alfie's box. I met Alfie through the Ontario Eastern Bluebird Society. The OEBS is also the reason why I am monitoring boxes. I wish I could tell Alfie of the activity in this box but he passed away in December back in 2017. He was a real character as he should be, being over 80 years old. He had a great sense of humour. He was an honest man. He cared about the birds he built boxes for. We do our best to maintain the couple boxes I got from him. I cannot help but think of him when I check these boxes.

Fresh hatches in Alfie's box June 01, 2020. The world may be in turmoil right now but this sight in nature had me forget everything for a little while.

Photos of a few more hatches or eggs throughout the other boxes.

I also found 3 House Wren nests, none are dummy nests, and all had eggs inside. While I could not see into the wren nests, I held my phone over top and captured photographic evidence of eggs. I accidentally deleted the shots. Grr! Wren nests are easy to identify as they are stick nests and usually fill the box right to the entry hole.

Then I had an odd find in another box. Black-capped Chickadees had started to build a nest but it was kiboshed by an adult Tree Swallow who died inside the box. The body was quite decomposed already so this happened a number of weeks ago. It's unfortunate that this was not discovered much sooner as maybe I would be reporting an active Chickadee nest. The box is very near where we had the nest 2 years ago which unfortunately a House Wren destroyed. The bird threw 4 newborn Chickadees out of the box to their deaths and also pipped the 3 eggs which were going to hatch at any time. The area is definitely favourable to Chickadees but they sure have it rough here. Perhaps a few Chickadee style boxes that the Swallows cannot get in and if there's a few, then hopefully a Wren won't come along and mess things up either. Something for 2021.

The mossy nest material is a sure sign that Chickadees were building here. That poor Tree Swallow. Spring was rough, being very cold and wet, once again seeing snow even in the first week of May. Once again, proof that you should never just throw up a bird house somewhere and forget about it.

So in total, I have 27 Swallow nests on the go with a total of 146 eggs. I think my previous record is 91. I wanted to hit 100 this year and am thrilled to have hurdled past my target.

To think that I started monitoring in 2016. There was 19 boxes at Area One with 7 nests and fledged 33 young. A lot of progress in 4 years, eh?

Let's hope all the birds have a great nesting season.

Just an FYI if you're following me here; the Peregrine Falcon fledge watches start this weekend so there will be a delay for the next box checks and nest blog.

And Just Like That I Have Nests...

Time is flying. It seems like only a week ago I was watching the newly arrived Tree Swallows just starting to gather nesting material for the boxes they claimed.

This is the only time I see Tree Swallows on the ground, when they are gathering grasses for the nest.

It's been a difficult time what with covid 19 affecting things like blogging. Angie works from home most of the time now and the computer area is tied up during her scheduled work hours. By the time I get home from work at night, I am too tired to blog. After checking 3 of the 4 nest areas the last couple days, it is time to fire out a blog so I really don't fall behind.

The Forgotten Land has eggs in the box I call "Old Reliable". I do wonder if it is the same pair of Tree Swallows coming back to it?

There's 3 other nests in development from the box relocating I did. I've seen a few other swallows around so it will be interesting to see how many I end up with.

Over at Lambton, swallows have returned to the same nest box and have eggs.

I filled the Chickadee nest tube with wood chips. It was excavated weeks ago but the birds did not return. I hear them in the area and believe they chose another location.

A House Wren is back and has filled up a lone nest box that I set up last year when I was trying to help the Chickadees.

Interesting is that another pair of Tree Swallows are in the area and looking to claim a box in between the Chickadee nest tube and the active Wren box. I found grassy material in the box and then sticks on top. I am thinking the Swallows are having a little battle with the Wren over this box. On Friday I made the decision to take down the Chickadee nest tube and set up another nest box in case the Swallows want to move a little bit further away. As I was doing the nest box work, a man approached me, remaining physically distant, and thanked me for what I was doing. He's been enjoying the bird activity while he walks his dog. I said I was glad he was appreciating the birds. He didn't quite understand why I was taking down the Chickadee tube even with my in depth explanation.

What's really cool is there is a male Eastern Bluebird hanging out in the area. He's been seen a few times now. Man I wish he would call in a female and claim one of the remaining nest boxes.

He is around often. I swear he's there just to tease me. Like I said, he's just hanging around.

I only had my small lens. Isn't that the way?

Moving on over to the Creek. Lots going on there. A blog should have been done just on the work I did this spring. There was those 2 rotting white nest boxes I discovered. I replaced both. I knew of 2 forgotten nest boxes up the hill, interestingly enough, set up by another organization. One of those I brought down to this spot. Swallows have claimed it and have eggs.

The other box up the hill was crooked. Birds tried to use it last year but with the hole pointing upward, I believe they abandoned the nest because of the rain getting inside. It was set up with grass and feathers but didn't go any further than that. Weeks ago I re-positioned the box and Swallows are now using it, also with eggs inside.

There are 9 boxes in the Creek area. I checked 7 of them and 5 have nests. Egg counts are 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Another box has a nest in development which I will inspect two weekends from now and see what's going on.

Five eggs. It looks like blood on a couple of them. Hmmm?

Six eggs! Seven is my record. NOTE: on average, Tree Swallows have 5 eggs. Six eggs does not surprise me because that happens more than when I find four eggs as the final amount in a box.

The remaining two boxes I will check later in the coming week. It appeared there was bird activity at both when I walked through there last week.

It looks like I am going to have a really good nesting season at the creek.

The Creek is a really interesting spot. Angie and I have recorded 80 bird species over the last few years. It's a quiet green space without much human interference and it shows. I really should do a summer bird list to see how many actually nest there.

We had a new bird species added to the Creek list today being a pair of Eastern Meadowlarks. This late in May, I am wondering if the birds are going to nest here?

We get other cool sightings like this mink.

Or this pair of courting frogs (toads?) with a minnow audience right in the creek.

I will do my best to be back with another blog very soon after my next inspection of Area One.

Thanks for sticking with me here!

Forgotten Land - Are We Ready for 2020?

So I've been puttering around the Forgotten Land for a few weeks now. Thankfully it really is a forgotten green space and my goings on in the area are solely me. I may see one or two people and that's it.

I have pondered giving up on the location, especially after last year and how poorly things went. My hopes of luring Bluebirds back here does fade but it will never truly go away. Any of the areas I am monitoring boxes, wishes of attracting Bluebirds is always there. There is one box at the Forgotten Land that does keep me monitoring the area. It's a lone box off the main road. It has had 19 Tree Swallows fledged over the last three years.

While I don't advertise the exact locations to any of my areas, a few trusted friends are in the know. They help keep eyes on the locations and send me bird reports that I really do appreciate, especially as the birds are slowly coming back. One of them informed me that he saw a Tree Swallow in the Forgotten Land last week. Today I went through there and saw a bird near that lone box. I do wonder if it's one of the same birds from past years that nest here?

A photo from last year. I only had a small camera with me today so I didn't try to photograph the bird in a nearby tree.

I've been worrying about these birds coming back and how it's turned unseasonably cool the last number of days. Those winds are pretty brutal too. I just have to wish the best for them, to tough it out and may we have nests on the go in another month or so.

The lone box from today's visit. I did find a couple feathers inside so I assume the bird is using the box at night maybe, or has been checking in periodically as he's claimed it.

There was a controlled burn here last week. With all the overgrowth burned away, I discovered that all the old nest boxes here were not cleaned up. Someone had thrown them into the field and they got swallowed up in the green. Now they are exposed once again. I piled them up and hopefully can get them removed. It is too bad the burn did not take care of that.

Another thing I worked on was moving the boxes away from the sports field by the school. I found some strength to pull out 4 t-posts with my bare hands and set them up a couple hundred feet away. These posts have been in the ground for over a decade. I know I was unsuccessful past attempts at tearing them out. Perhaps my frustrations with the pandemic gave me that extra something I needed?

With the posts set up elsewhere, I brought the boxes home and fixed them up a little. A few walls reinforced and I painted them all. One I added some bark to the front just for the heck of it.

It's kind of like that old saying "putting lipstick on a pig" but the boxes will hold out for another nesting season, if not longer.

I set the boxes up few days later and now we wait.

Here's hoping to good nesting season here in the Forgotten Land; but if that lone box is the only nest, I am okay with that too.

I should add that I moved the one box remaining on the east side of the area as well. It was where all the Bluebird drama took place a couple years ago. I didn't want to move that box for sentimental reasons but finally did this year. I forgot to take a photo of it for the blog. Next time.

Thank you for giving this a read; and two words I hope we don't have to keep saying to one another sooner rather than later... "STAY SAFE".