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.

The Forgotten Land AND...

Since I was on a roll with Area One earlier in the week, I decided to get to the Forgotten Land a few days later. It's not booming and exciting like 2017 because the Bluebirds did not come back (nothing against the Tree Swallows). I am sad about this and hope for another time with them, another year, either here or some place else I am monitoring. It was a dramatic adventure and something I won't ever forget.

Anyway, let's get on with this. 7 boxes stand in the Forgotten Land, well, actually 8 because I discovered another box that was missed in my many walks of the area. I decided to leave it where it stands. It's a reminder of what once was in the area and no bird would ever use it because of where it is and the shape it is in.

Two other boxes have active nests. One has 7 eggs! That's a record high for me with a Tree Swallow nest.

It's nice to see them in a much more stable and secure box this year. Last year, they were on the same post in a dilapidated box I was fearful of inspecting again after discovering them. They had 6 eggs in 2017, and all successfully fledged. I'm curious if it's one of the same birds from last year?

The other box has 5 eggs inside. Also Tree Swallows. There is another box nearby, which has the start of a nest and hopefully it turns into something by next visit. All these boxes are in the section I've named West Hill. The other section, East Ravine, has 2 boxes and no activity.

The walk through the Forgotten Land isn't easy ever since that wind storm from earlier in the month. A few large trees were blown over and still lay across the paths.

If you caught my blog regarding the Forgotten Land from a few months ago, you might remember that I took down 27 boxes and left them in 3 neat piles off the path. They sat there until sometime recently cleaned them up. My last visit 2 weeks ago, the boxes were still there, but now they are gone. I'm going with either a community clean up or the city took on this task. I know it's not the people I've been in contact with about the area because there's still 30+ t-bars still in the ground. I have given up entirely on that group now. I have plans in the works for 2019 already which I hope to start up this fall; nothing big but hopefully a little more appealing to the birds.

AND, now for the last area which I have named Lambton since this is right around the corner from my home. I put one box up in 2017 and it had no activity. Earlier this Spring I put in another 2 that were given to me. One of those boxes has a Tree Swallow nest and 5 eggs.

When I first opened the box, I found a female Tree Swallow inside and she had no intention of leaving. So I closed the box up and walked away.

I went to check the other box which is about 60 ft east, it has no activity. I noticed her flying out while I was at this box. I took the opportunity to have another look now and saw the eggs.

The initial box has the start up of a Chickadee nest. I'm unsure if it's in development or they have since abandoned it and chose to nest elsewhere. I did notice an active cavity not too far from this box where Chickadees were seemingly nesting. This tiny cavity has had Chickadees in the past and another year some Downy Woodpeckers. We will know what's going on here by my next visit.

That mossy nesting material is a sure sign of Chickadees in my past experiences.

In 2 weeks time I will do another check of everything and hopefully have a total egg count for the season; unless we get a surprise second brood somewhere after.

Area One: Great Start

May 21, 2018. Angie and I went for a big walk through Area One. We've been on vacation for the last 2 weeks and I really wanted to do this before getting back to work as I know the first couple days back to the grind are gonna be rough.

It was a sunny warm morning and I enjoyed having my wife accompany me. It doesn't happen that often as I usually try to do these things during the work week since we work opposite shifts.

It was a bit of an adventure because some new boxes were set up that I had to find on my own, as I was not present during the install. Hopefully we found them all, but if not, I'm sure my friend and I can sort this out.

Okay, now for our finds in no particular order.

4 nest boxes with work in progress it would seem. I'm hoping they are in the early stages of development with some Tree Swallows. Last year I had a few that were started and then abandoned. It's a mystery as to why this happens.

2 nest boxes are empty.

8 nest boxes are just that... nests. 43 eggs in total so far. Many have 6 eggs within, a few 5's and one with 4 (which may have more in the coming days).

You may notice a Blue Jay feather was picked up somewhere for this nest below. We had one in a box last year as well.

Then, the really nice surprise is that Black-capped Chickadees have also taken up nesting in one box. They had 7 eggs, 4 of which hatched early that morning, and hopefully the other 3 will too. I could not see into the nest so I held my phone up over it to snap a photo, as I have to with many of the nests.

To give you an idea on the size of a Chickadee egg, here is a photo of mine from a few years back when Chickadees used to nest in our backyard. This egg came from a 2nd brood that did not hatch with our pair. The egg is on a 10 cent Canadian coin.

1 new nest box is active but whoever installed it, screwed the door side to the t-bar and it's currently not accessible for inspection. There was a pair of angry adults buzzing my head so I am going to leave the box be for the season. If they have eggs already, I'd rather not disrupt their development by moving the box. I will go with an average egg count (5) for this box until I can properly inspect later in the summer when the birds are done. NOTE: this number of eggs guess is NOT in my count of 43 so far. It will be a side note

1 nest box had a female Tree Swallow sitting in it. She was adamant about letting me have a peek. So I just closed the door, made a note and will check this box next visit in a couple weeks.

The Love Shack (cover photo) has a shallow pit of grass in the bottom. We shall see what, or if, anything has come of this with next visit.

1 House Wren nest well under way. I'm not going to do anything with this nest because they build them thick full of sticks and trying to catch a glimpse inside is too difficult without disturbing things. I borrowed this image from a Google search to give you an idea on what their nest looks like. It's amazing that such a tiny little bird like a House Wren can gather and set so many sticks inside a nest box. This one here actually built their nest over a Tree Swallow nest. I don't think this particular Wren nest is complete because in my encounters with them, you cannot see through the nest at all.

1 House Sparrow nest with 5 eggs. I borrowed this image from a Google search.

House Sparrows are no friend to Tree Swallows and Bluebirds. I know others would destroy this nest for many reasons but I will not. The box is well away from all the others, in the B area. Plus I have recently learned everything in the B area must come down in August due to some major development. There's only 4 boxes including our Love Shack and Alfie's box but we already have a plan on where they will go for 2019. I'm doubtful the House Sparrows will follow as I've not seen them in other areas.

I'd say this is a great start for the season. Ten nests for sure with four others potentially becoming. The Chickadee nest is a wonderful addition to the area.

Angie did a bird census for me during the walk.

I like to do this on occasion, especially in the month of May. This wasn't hard birding so I'm sure we passed a few Warblers high in the leafy tree tops. 19 species during a leisurely stroll is pretty good.

American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Common Grackle, American Goldfinch, Red-winged Blackbird, Baltimore Oriole, Black-capped Chickadee, Tree Swallow, Cooper's Hawk, Mallard Duck, House Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Philadelphia Vireo, Eastern Kingbird, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellow-throat, Cedar Waxwing and House Wren. She also spotted the first Black Swallowtail Butterfly for the season.

I will be checking my other areas later this week. Stay tuned.

Wow! I can't believe it's all happening once again, just like that. It wasn't much more than a month ago since we had the ice storm.

I've since done a follow up of the other two areas, you can check it out here.

On Vacation

I'm on a much needed vacation with my wife. Be back soon! Until then, here's a sneak peek about a little nest box I was monitoring the best I could.

Enjoy the birds out there!