Man, here we are past mid-July already! It's been a pleasant summer so far but go figure that now it's time for me to start going through all the nest boxes that the heat is on with the humidity making it feel up around 40 Celcius. Ugh!
My last blog had zero reads. I guess since this isn't a regular blog, it's lost interest by some. And no that wasn't a pity plea for some hits. Alright, let's get going here...
First up, Lambton. I had the successful black-capped chickadee nest which I strongly believe produced eight young birds; even if it was seven, that's still a great nest with all fledging. I had two tree swallow nests on the go but unfortunately one pair of birds abandoned the one nest box after only laying down an inch of grassy material inside. The second nest had five eggs and all that was left with my last check was one unhatched egg. So it is safe to say that four birds successfully fledged. Four birds is better than none but I am a little bit disappointed.
Moving on to the Forgotten Land, things were better with more nests, but not as good as past years here. I had four nests for the 2022 season with twenty-one eggs. Throughout my checks, I found a small bird skeleton in two of the boxes and one egg that did not hatch. So eighteen fledged. Still that is better than the first year I discovered this area.
Oh look, the birds used part of someone's mask in this nest. Aside from the whole covid virus, how these masks are littered all over the planet is really freakin' bothersome.
Wild parsnip grows well in the Forgotten Land now; something that wasn't here when I first started monitoring boxes here. I dressed accordingly with long pants on that were tucked into my socks. I still avoided the plants but I wasn't taking any chances as we cannot forget about the possibility of ticks and other biting and stinging insects that could be in the field.
Last nest here about to be emptied out for the 2022 season. I carry a stick with me to scrape these nests out and I pull my shirt over my nose to avoid breathing in any dust (I should have brought a mask as last year I always had one on me).
Overall between the two areas, five tree swallow nests and twenty-two fledged. I'm not trying to be negative but if you break that down, it is below average. Tree swallows normally have five or six eggs, (and I have had seven a couple times). Also I was one less nest at both areas compared to the last couple years.
I guess every year cannot be the same, and while I wish each year to be better than the previous, I know that's just silly. This season went by ridiculously fast. *MIND BLOWN*
Okay, I hope to be back early next week with another tally for one or both of the two remaining areas to inspect.
Keep cool, eh.
