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".
