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Tree Swallows on the Bluebird Trail (Part 2)Also see Dead Tree Swallows in Nestbox and Violet Green Swallows Date: Sat, 03 Jun 2000 22:01:14 EDT Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2000 20:37:50 -0700 This Spring I put up another swallow box 6-1/2' from an old one, hopeing that a Tree Swallow would claim one and keep other Tree Sws. away from the other, giving the Violet-greens another opportunity. The old box got a Tree Sw. nest and had 5 eggs in it. The new one had nothing. Then one morning early I saw the female (a first year bird) leave the old box and go at once into the new one. From then on she worked very hard at building another nest in the new box. In the shortest time in my experience she had finished the new (small) nest with 5 eggs the last I checked. The old box has been abandoned. The only thing happening is that occasionally the male from the new box perches on the roof of the old & once in a while peeks in. There is nothing visible as a reason for abandoning the old box. An other oddity is that I have one Violet-green box where the bird is sharing the box with a 1-1/2" tall wasp nest hanging from the ceiling, so far with no problems. Yesterday I ran a video monitor (2 hrs.) and saw both the bird and wasps going in and out. Today the bird seems to be incubating as she did not move when I looked in to see if there was indeed a wasp nest in the box. Alan Reid -- Leaburg Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 00:36:34 EDT After the untimely demise of the second Swallow in their nest
we have decided it is war. I have tried the trap in a nest but
I am unable to catch them. OK so I freak out when they fly to
my head. Not to mention that I work in the evening and do not
want to hurt a bird that is not of the pest type. So we went
to the store and purchased a "firearm." After setting
the scope, and practicing aiming -- no more lawn ornament plastic
flamingo, (I knew they were good for something), we laid in
wait, and wait, and wait, and wait. All that have been around
is the Western Bluebird busily feeding her babies. Do they know
they will be dust if they show up? I don't want to attract them
to shoot them, but I want the Swallows to be able to nest in
peace. Has anyone have any idea for a trap that is on the ground?
I know there have been posts asking but have never seen the
response. Any suggestions privately as to not clog up the list
and it is not the 15th or the 30th, would be appreciated Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 07:10:51 -0400 Haleya, and others! You hit the nail on the head when you said: I have not seen one hide nor hair of TRES even though they've got 6 babies in the box in the back yard... H Yesterday was exactly the kind of day when vulnerable Tree
Swallow chicks perish. Constant steady rain, daytime temps in
the 50's, nighttime temps in the 40's. Flying insects are scarce,
the chicks get cold, and the parents are absent. According to
my records, I've got 5 clutches that were 6-7 days old yesterday.
That means the female has stopped nighttime brooding, but the
chicks are still unable to regulate their own body temps. I'm
really NOT looking forward to checking my boxes. :-( Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 07:41:10 EDT I feel really lucky that there are no chicks in any of the boxes on my trail at the moment! All bluebirds and chickadees fledged last week and Tree Swallows ( TRES ) just have eggs. I'd be particularly worried about TRES babies, as you are, if I had any. I will keep my fingers crossed for your TRES clutches! Question to all: There are clutches of eggs in the boxes on my trail, TRES as I said, and some new bluebird ones. If any nests are really wet when I go on Thursday should I just let them dry out naturally since there are only eggs or try to replace them? ... Jane Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 08:11:56 -0700 I had been worried about the tree swallow also--unfortuanly checked the boxes this morning and not good. One batch that was 8 days old were completely gone from the nest-- no signs of attack. The other babys about 12 days old were all dead . I had my first housesparrows of the year move in and I immediately moved them out. They found another box and layed 2 eggs and I threw that out also. They had layed an egg on the dead tree swallow babys so now all boxes are empty and closed off until the sparrows can be dealt with.(the sparrow must have layed the egg this morning as I had just thrown out the nest last night) I'm pretty sure the cold weather killed the last swallows. The babys did not look attacted like a typical sparrow attack. Elaine from Central New York. Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 09:52:56 -0400 I guess I'm lucky there are no chicks, just eggs, in my boxes,
and the boxes are pretty watertight (or at least they were last
month when it also rained buckets). I also have no TRES, but
I will add my crossed fingers for those who do. The adults who
are now feeding fledglings are taking mealworms as fast as I
can put them out. I'm glad my boxes (two active nests and two
fledged) are all on my property, so I can keep these birds fed. ... Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 19:37:30 -0400 Chris Statton The neighboring blues never sounded a single warning of the kestrel's approach. I've never seen mentioned anywhere, why the zillion of adult tree swallows show up before fledging, but had always theorized they were what I call "hawk decoys" - an attempt to protect fledglings from hawks. I know red-tails and sharpshin hawks can take a tremendous toll on Purple Martin fledglings. But, again, this is the first time I have ever seen a kestrel directly visit a bluebird/tree swallow nestbox for a meal. I certainly have another appreciation for why the bluebirds do get upset when kestrels perch on their nestbox while hawking fields for food . perhaps they could also be scouting future sites of near-fledglings sticking out of a box. Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 23:40:08 -0700 I checked some of my Tree Swallow boxes today. At the Fern Ridge W.M.A., Royal Ave., one box had 7 dead young and one unhatched egg, for 8. Another box had 6 dead young and another one dead with 5 alive & healthy. Right after the first 2 clutches hatched we had quite a spell of cold, wet weather. All the ones at my home place are in good shape, but they hatched well before or just after the bad weather. Alan Reid Oregon Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 20:59:06 -0400 Hi Bluebirders from Mary Roen, River Falls, WI This year at the Minnesota Bluebird Recovery Program convention, I bought my first pvc type nestbox. I put it up by a field next to our house. It took birds a while to investigate it, as I have always used standard nestboxes, but after a few weeks, a Tree Swallow pair built a nest in it, and laid eggs. The next week when I monitored the box, a Bluebird pair had taken over the box and already had built a nest over the swallow nest and had 4 eggs in it! I have never had Bluebirds take over a Tree Swallow nestbox before. They may be the same pair that nested in our yard for the first brood, and didn't want to move too far away, because the mealworm feeder is near the first box, or maybe they just wanted to try the new "Real Estate". This is what makes being a Bluebird landlord so fascinating! Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 18:57:58 -0400 Haleya Preist Amherst MA Well, I've had some kind of weekend. Today I found a nest of very cool TRES babies, about one week old. Mom must have gotten killed. 2 were dead and 4 were half way. Still, I decided it was better to give them a chance and after warming them up, placed the 2 strongest in with another TRES nest of same age with only 5 babies. Had a Gilbertson with same agers, but didn't want to overload that already full box of 6 TRES. Anyway, I'll go check tomorrow the foster babies tomorrow. I always fretted at the idea of placing babies with foster parents - but with Linda Violett's instructions/experience a month or so ago with placing babies, I followed her advice. I went to each box of TRES and placed them by LOOKS not dates in my book. First TRES are about as unpredictable as they come. I can't tell who was hatched when as there egg laying styles are so erratic. Even when they hatched about the same time, some boxes of TRES were WAY more developed than others, even though at similar ages. With that, it wasn't hard to do at all, and didn't require special skills - I just went by looks. One thing I have learned with my new trail is when I monitor to not just assume everyone in the nest is alive or very alive if it even LOOKS ok. I place my hand on the babies and make sure they are all warm. I thought these little guys were sleeping and had I not done the touch test I wouldn't have known and then I'd of ended up with another (somewhat less) gross situation in a few days! H Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2000 22:32:41 EDT Hi....I wanted to once again..only out of curiousity..get some input from some of you more experienced bluebirders about bluebird/tree swallow behavior. I have two bluebird houses paired at my home. One year the TRES came to nest and the bluebirds chased them away despite the fact that they (the bluebirds) had a nest with babies or eggs in it. The BB's were very aggressive towards the TRES. I have not seen another pair of TRES try since then. But the bluebirds who do nest on my property often use my boxes this way...They use the unoccupied box to start their second nest before the first clutch has fledged. And the female often lays the first egg of the second nesting as early as the day after the babies have fledged. That is what happened this year. Apparently the aggressive behavior towards TRES is not an anomaly. A woman I teach with has witnessed this at her house too. (About 20 miles from my home but very close to my trail at school.) She has always had TRES and BBs nest side by side although her boxes are not quite paired in the traditional 15' apart way..but are probably more like 25 ' apart. However, this year, although the bluebirds were sitting on eggs, they attacked and banished a TRES pair who had begun building a nest. Now the bluebirds are using the second box for their second clutch. Has anyone else seen this behavior? Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2000 22:49:07 -0400 Nancy, et al., - No. I've never seen the kind of thing you
describe. The Bluebirds and Tree Swallows that nest in my paired
houses (15') do not compete with each other at all. Occasionally
they'll perch on each other's houses, but there's never any
kind of strife. If anything, the Bluebirds are slightly more
inquisitive, but it never takes the form of conflict. Maybe
your Bluebirds are just more feisty than ours up here. Maybe
the Bluebird population down in Newtown is much more dense,
and the competition for nesting space is more intense. Otherwise,
I can't explain it. Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 00:29:31 EDT Malinda Mastako I have had exactly the same experience as Nancy here in my back yard in Michigan. My bluebirds always defended and drove off tree swallows. My solution was to put up more boxes. I always have a pair, and then a lone box, at least, available. The bluebirds usually choose the box that is not paired and begin nesting before the tree swallows show up. When the tree swallows arrive, they take one of the boxes in the pair. About a week before fledging the bluebird brood, I will place another nestbox close to the one the bluebirds are currently in. They then have the choice of moving into the paired box with the tree swallows or using the new one near their current nest. In the last four years, the bluebirds have always stayed away from the tree swallow pair, and have always had a nest started, completed or even an egg (once TWO eggs!) by fledging day. This system is working again this year. The bluebird female is currently incubating her third brood, each time the new nest has already been started before fledge of the previous brood. In 1998, thanks to ElNino and an early spring, our yard pair managed 4 broods with 19 young fledging in our yard. This year they are about a week behind schedule for this, but I am hopeful that since the tree swallows have now fledged, and I plan on giving her a "new" box just before fledge of this brood (knock on wood) that we MAY see this again. The empty boxes are excellent for trapping any house sparrows that may wander in as well. I know moving the boxes around this way is not manageable in the trail situation, but for the backyarder, like myself, it works. And in the long run shows, that at least here in my own yard, the bluebirds prefer a little space from the tree swallows if they can have it, if not they do their best to keep the tree swallows out all together. Malinda Mastako Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 05:40:29 -0500 Hi ya'll - Greetings from west TN. Since arriving in the Mid-South area in '94, I have yet to see a TRES. Plenty of them in OH. They must be farther north. I would like to ask, are they in KY, MO, OK, AR, GA, NC or SC? I may just not being observant or they aren't here. Have never had a nest of them in my 130 odd boxes since coming south. Thanks, Dan McCue in Camden, TN 75 miles due west of Nashville on the TN River. Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 08:32:25 -0500 Steve & Regina Garr Dan and everyone, They nest in the boxes on the side of the park that is the most"wet lands" in terrain - it is very open and across from the big pond where the herrings hang out. There is some excellent territory for them in the "Phase Two" of the park, but we only have one box up there so far. Some of our customers have been telling us for years TRES nest in their EABL boxes(in Lebanon and Gallatin, TN) but we never saw it until last year at the park. We have added Tree Swallow slides to our bluebird seminars now because we are getting more and more calls saying people have TRES in their nest boxes. BY THE WAY.... we got two of the adult TRES and two of the
babies banded last year, so hey, let us know if you see a banded
one! Also, Dan, please come and visit "our" TRES -
they're not that far away! Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 11:58:09 EDT Until this year, my EAstern BLuebirds, like Bruce's, got on swimmingly with the TREe Swallows. This year, though, I had a pair of EABLs who wanted no part of a TRES pair in the next box. Wow, were there some battles, mainly Papa EABL. Once the eggs hatched, though, the EABLs were apparently too busy to fuss any more, and the TRES had a chance to settle in. All 3 sets of EABLs have now fledged (total of 14) and one new nest (2 eggs) started. TRES hatching everywhere, 9 nests with 6 each, one with 5; one TRES nest with 4 eggs cold the last 3 times checked in about 10 days-- interestingly, in the pair where the first EABL female disappeared, same box where the thin-shelled TRES eggs were. Rhonda Watts Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 13:32:57 -0400 Dan McCue, et al, Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 21:34:59 -0400 I saw the same behavior at my house. I eventually just moved
the empty bluebird box out of site of the bluebirds, and the
tree swallows were able to nest. In my case, the female bluebird
was a bully, and was bothering the tree swallows before the
bluebird eggs hatched. Today I have 3 baby tree swallows and
I believe the bluebirds will be fledging this week. It seems
that my female bluebird looks fat, so maybe I'll get another
house set up in case my bluebirds act like yours. Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 22:18:28 EDT Jeff, I'm wondering whether your bluebirds have any competition from HOSPs where you are? Nancy Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 22:49:31 -0500 One of the places Dan asked about Tree Swallow locations was Oklahoma. I do not have them here in Northeast Oklahoma, but one of our Bluebird Society members has reported that they nest south of here around some of the lakes. Bluebird Bob. Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 07:40:15
-0400 Where I am, the Bluebirds and Tree Swallows seem to have worked out a mutually beneficial arrangement. Intruder birds can't usually face up to an attack by 2 Bluebirds and 2 Tree Swallows, working together. Bruce Burdett, Sunapee NH ... Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 21:20:06
-0400 This being the first year I've done
this, I haven't seen any house sparrows trying to get into my
boxes. I have seen 1, but he didn't seem interested at all.
I do have purple finches, and they make me nervous when they
land near the box (the box is on a wooden fence). But the bluebirds
don't seem to mind. Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 21:03:21 -0400 Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 08:33:26 -0600 From: Haleya Priest hpandtl"at"crocker.com Subject: TRES QUESTIONS Haleya Priest Amherst MA 3 TRES questions: 2) When TRES fledge, are they just free birds, ie, do the parents take them to the trees for days on end like EABL? 3) I read one place they are independent in terms of food after 3-4 days, another I read immmediately independent upon fledging. Thanks! H Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 11:22:41 EDT Hi, Haleya- Don't know about #1, doesn't seem like a nest this late would succeed. If I remember right, you have "saturation boxes", so I wouldn't think it was a pair that never found a cavity. #2-3: It always looks to me as if the newly fledged TRES seem to follow the adults, almost in flocks, for quite a while. Never saw an adult feeding a fledgling, though, or any behavior like begging. I would think they were independent pretty quickly. Rhonda Watts Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 22:52:38 EDT Following Haleya's question about TREe Swallows this morning, I took a few minutes to watch as we were cutting hay today. TRES were *everywhere*, just above ground level, enjoying the easy meals. There were at least half newly fledged, dull brown TRES. It did look as if the adults led the way and the youngsters followed, though that may be just an impression. At one point, though, a youngster apparently got a bit too close to one of the adults, whereupon the adult turned on the youngster and gave him (her?) a real buffeting. They separated just before they hit the ground, and the youngster retreated to the upper air! Didn't take long for the crows to appear this morning, either. They must know there is always the odd mouse, frog, snake, whatever, that gets, um, conditioned with the hay. The bobolinks seemed upset; we are a little later haying, but I hope they were not later nesting... At least the field near the house will be last mowed, so the bobolinks there will have a few more days. Will check the Eastern Bluebird nest, due to hatch in a few days, when I first go to the field in the morning. The haying can't be any different to the parade, from their perspective! Rhonda Watts Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 23:00:58
-0500 Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 23:17:20
-0500 Date: Sun, 02 Jul 2000 17:04:22 -0400 Hi, Is this behavior a clue that the chicks will fledge soon? They've
been doing this for the past 2 days. The parents usually end
up feeding the chick who sticks his head out. Also the chicks
are very vocal. Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2000 13:40:12 EDT Hello to all, We have Violet-green Swallow babies that are 23 days old and have not fledged. Is this unusual? Should we look in the box to see if there is a problem or just let them be? Thanks for any help. REL Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2000 13:56:15 -0700 ...Jeff: I fairly certain it is, and sincerely HOPE it is, because I've spent as much time as I can watching the same behavior from my Violet Green Swallows since yesterday. The female frequently sits with her head sticking out for hours on end. But these are definitely chicks, and they stick their head/neck/shoulders out so far and look around, before retreating that I keep thinking that they'll fall out! Wendy Guglieri Date: Mon, 03 Jul 2000 19:58:20 -0600 Haleya Priest Amherst MA ... Date: Mon, 03 Jul 2000 22:52:26 EDT -------------------------------------------------------------
Chicks sticking head out of box...Is this behavior a clue that
the chicks will fledge soon? They've been doing this for the
past 2 days. The parents usually end up feeding the chick who
sticks his head out. Also the chicks are very vocal. That seems to fit with what I've observed here. Once they start leaning out the "windows" it won't be long before they hit the skies! Rhonda Watts Date: Tue, 04 Jul 2000 13:27:00 EDT We too have had a Tree Swallow (TRES) baby hanging out of the box for the last 4 days. Today when we looked there was a TRES perched right next to the box on one of the fence wires, looking around like it was all new. We figured that one had fledged when we weren't looking. The parents were still flying around but were not feeding this one. Finally it took a couple of loops over the pasture that got higher and higher and then took off. But we still have a face peeking out the nest box -- if this is another fledging do they each take several days to get up the courage as they fledge one-by-one? We have also have 3 bluebird eggs in another nestbox -- when is the latest a bluebird will set up housekeeping in this area Charlotte and Randy Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 10:26:10 -0700 Greetings all: Just outside my bedroom window I have a box which I view from the side, and have had a wonderful time watching the Violet Green SWallow nestlings sticking their heads out for the past few days, getting ready to fledge. Yesterday my husband and I were watching them when to my surprise and utter amazement an adult WEstern BLuebird flew up to the nestbox with a large insect in his beak and landed at the entrance hole. The VGSW nestling stayed put with his head still sticking out, while the WEBL sort of held his head back looking at him. The "stare-down" lasted for about 2 seconds. (What a Kodak moment!). The WEBL flew away, only to circle, return, and poke the insect into the nest (the nestling had retreated into the nest). I have never heard of anything like this in the past, but a Very Learned Friend told me that when hormones are running high, and the birds, both male and female, are feeding young, that they may become confused at the gaping mouth and actually feed the young of another species by mistake. But there was no gaping mouth here, just an almost-ready-to-fledge nestling hanging out of the entrance hole. Later in the day, I was astounded to see this behavior repeated.
The female WEBL sat on the fence while the male, in all his
beautiful blue splendor, returned to the Swallow nest not once, but twice, each time
with an insect which he dutifully fed to the nestlings. Now
these are only 3 times that I Has anyone else ever seen or heard of this type of inter-species feeding? Wendy Guglieri Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 13:59:21 EDT Shawna B. NW NJ Zone6 Good day Wendy, I have never seen this, but in this edition (summer 2000) of the BLUEBIRD put out by Nabs, It has a rather large article regarding this subject, They called this article "Bluebirds as HELPERS" and they say this behavior is well documented, You are very lucky to be seeing it. What a good daddy this male Blue is going to make. Best of Luck Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 16:37:04 -0700 On the cover of the Bluebird (Journal of the North American Bluebirds Society) It has a Bluebird feeding young Phoebes in the nest. Maynard R Sumner Date: Sat, 8 Jul 2000 07:29:08
EDT Date: Sat, 08 Jul 2000 09:43:51
-0400 Date: Sat, 8 Jul 2000 16:45:16 -0700 This is our third year with bluebirds. We only had one pair,
along with 3 pairs of tree swallows (and some nasty sparrows
that we are trying to deal with). Four bluebirds fledged on
June 23. I was having "empty nest" syndrome. On July
4 the mother came back and began to build a nest in one of the
other boxes. There are 3 eggs so far and I've seen at least
two of the babies with the parents. This is a thrill. Date: Sat, 8 Jul 2000 21:06:44
-0700 Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 20:03:38 -0700 Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 22:57:58 -0500 Fread J. Loane Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 23:01:21
-0500 Their maiden flight must be quite a thrill! I still remember my first bicycle trip down the driveway with anxious parents racing beside me and then further and further behind! I probably wouldn't have remembered it but while looking back at them I steered the bike over the steep "cliff" at the edge of the driveway and distinctly remember falling and tumbling forever....The acrid smell of alcohol and merthalolate on skinned knees still plainly hangs in the corners of my mind to this day! It was strange when I returned to the scene of this traumatic accident 10 years later that all I could find was an area with a gentle slope beside the drive! It is no wonder "our" birds get aggressive as their young are about to leave the nest! Can you imagine having six children dashing off on bikes for their very first time across a four lane highway at rush hour! Our cavity nesters are at the very bottom of the food chain. To them anything bigger than they are is a potential danger. Watch the birds closely and you will see them do things nobody has written about! KK Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 06:57:20 -0500 I am experiencing exactly what you are talking about right
now. This is my first year as a Purple Martin Landlord, and
are these birds an entertainment to watch! At this time, all older birds have fledged, and only
the first year pairs are left, and just a few of them. I see
them doing the exact things you mentioned; drinking and bathing
in the pond on the wing, and feeding the fledglings on the wing
also. They are gathering in the pre-migratory bunches now, including
swifts and barnies, and at one time yesterday, there were up
to 50 Martins circling and chattering! Bill Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 07:46:16 -0400 Haleya, During a banding workshop with Dr. David Winkler at Cornell, I asked about why Tree Swallows seem to mob a box that is about to fledge. He said they are curious, like humans at the scene of an accident. I also noticed this behavior yesterday while I was banding the adults at a late nesting. One little cry of alarm from the male and I was surrounded by tree swallows wanting to know what was going on! Brenda ... Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 07:05:07 -0500 I think Dr. Winkler is right on. In this my first year with Purple Martins, I fledged two nests in the last two weeks. Not only the resident birds of the colony did this, but neighbors from several miles around seemed to drop in! My sleepy little colony of 4-6 birds suddenly had up to 30! And this did not just happen while the fledging was going on--it continued for as long as the young were in the vicinity. Purple Martins are a riot! Now I am looking forward to adding more housing, and building
Blue Bird boxes for both next year. Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 10:35:26 -0500 I just read the Messages about the mobbing of boxes when baby birds fledge and would like to relay my experience. A couple of days ago, I was observing one of my nestboxes that had Eastern Bluebirds in it ready to fledge. Both parents were trying to coax the babies out with food. One baby finally fledged and flew a short distance to the ground in front of the box. Almost immediately, there were birds everywhere in the vicinity. A female Baltimore Oriole landed on the ground next to the fledgling but was immediately chased off by the parent bluebirds. Then three American Goldfinches flew down next to the fledgling but the bluebirds did not chase them off. The Goldfinches just "watched" the fledgling as if they were babysitting it and even chased away a Red-winged Blackbird that approached it. All-in-all, there were Red-winged Blackbirds, Goldfinches, Orioles, a Blue Jay, and a Northern Cardinal that flew in to check out what was happening. It was quite a sighting for me. I left before the other babies fledged and when I checked the box the next day, I saw all of the babies fledged successfully!! Hopefully the parents will nest again and raise their third brood. Jay Gilliam Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 08:38:00 -0700 Portland, Oregon, USA The observations of those with both Tree Swallows and Purple Martins of groups of the birds visiting a box with about-to-fledge young has been mirrored in the behavior of Violet-Green Swallows. I noticed this particularly at my "home" box (probably because I can watch for lengths of time). I had always assumed that they were pairs that had failed nesting attempts; this year there was a group that increased gradually to about 10. They would fly around checking out the box, hovering at the hole, even hanging at the entrance. The parents bringing in food had strong arguments with these visitors when they encountered them, but I never saw an attack or fighting. Second observation: VGSW (is that the correct abbreviation?) *do* return to the box after fledging. There were two that fledged first a day or two before the second two and they would return and enter the box with the remaining unfledged siblings. I've noticed this on more than one occasion. I remember watching my very first box at dusk as five birds entered the box for the night. This only seems to happen for a day or two, though. The sad thing, though, is that they don't stick around when they are done. The young fledged this past weekend and my neighborhood is silent now. I miss "my" little family. I see others around (they are starting to poke their heads out of the boxes up here 750' higher elevation, but they certainly high-tail it away from home. I wonder if they have headed south (VGSW are among the first to leave), or if they are among the those that hang out at the nearby lake. Third Observation: The female at my home box this year was a remarkably aggressive and feisty bird. I have never seen one so pugnacious. She certainly knew her enemies. The pitched battles with a HOSP this spring were scary to watch (and, yes, I was trapping HOSPs all spring and managed to remove 10 males from the local population, but there are always more). The funniest moment was when I had scared away a squirrel that had a regular path over the building next door that was worrying her, she actually flew after it as it ran away and nipped its tail! It was sad to see she had injured one leg sometime in the last two weeks. I could see one leg hanging down when she flew over. She continued feeding the young, hanging on the hole at a slight angle. I wish I could "do" bluebirds. But they will never be seen in my small real-close-to-town back yard. And since I eschew a personal automobile, I don't get out to those areas where they are. I do have bluebirds vicariously from this list, though, and I've learned a lot. Thanks to you all! - Marsie Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 10:30:39 -0400 Becky Guenther, et al, The sentence "The swallows won the box and by the time we evicted them...." attracted my attention for several reasons. First, Tree Swallows are federally protected native birds, and should never be "evicted". Second, if you pair your houses, about 15' apart, Tree Swallow competition will cease to be a problem. Third, Tree Swallows are very desirable, beautiful, and fascinating birds, and should be aggressivly encouraged. Nesting often side by side with Bluebirds, they'll join forces with them in driving off all manner of intruders. A pair each of adult Bluebirds and Tree Swallows (4 birds) going after a hapless interloper is a sight to behold. The presence of the juvenile(s) is a very good omen for your single mother. Juvenile Bluebirds often join in the feeding of the next clutch of chicks, and the mealworms will probably make them bond with your 'site' and stick around. And Becky, you really should get yourself a good book. I like the Scriven, myself. With a good book, you'll know as much as any of the rest of us, and then you can instruct others. Bruce Burdett NH blueburd"at"srnet.com ... Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 18:58:26 -0700 A method that the wood duck box builders use is to just groove
the inside of the front panel of the box with a router in a
zigzag fashion. This idea might work for those who are building
the deeper boxes and want to make it easier for the swallows.
Any kind of screening can be lethal as sometimes toes get caught
and the bird cannot get out of the box. Janet King NW CAlif....
Janet, Theresa, Barry, Hatch and all, regarding grooves inside front panel under the entrance. This is very important in all boxes except those that have a slanted front (such as the Peterson box). All the boxes I make have grooves under the entrance. These are made with the saw blade and are 1/8" deep at 1/2 to 3/4 inch apart and go all the way from just under the entrance to just above the floor. Such grooves can be easily made with a table or radial arm saw. I make mine with the radial arm saw by lowering the blade into the wood so the grooves are under the entrance but to do not go all the way to the sides (better appearance). Fawzi Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 09:44:16 EDT That's surely the way to do it if you have the shop equipment to accomplish the task. The same roughening can be accomplished, manually, by random pounding into the inside wood surface under the hole and down several inches [to the level of nesting material]with any of these tools: ice pick, awl, nail outener, Phillips head screwdriver point, cold chisel, pointed handle end of wood rasp/file.....anything which will make identations into the wood surface. Any of these tool will do the job and roughen up the wood surface for the birds' use. PS: If this is being done on the door of the box, it is more easily done BEFORE mounting the door panel on the box. Dean Sheldon, Huron County, OH [just south of Lake Erie] Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 18:50:30 -0400 Haleya Priest, Amherst MA True confession: I take a nail and scratch the living daylights
out of the inside of the box below the hole. Is this not enough?
H ... Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 15:59:04 -0700 Haleya and all: ... Tree swallows on the bluebird trail (Part 3) |
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