Life Goes On

Birds are nesting and new eggs were laid. The disasters a week ago are forgotten. Click the pictures for full view.

South Side
The last box has swallows nesting. The parent is shown here

The neighbors, rare for two pairs of swallows, raised their young and the box was empty:

Surprisingly, Box 12 that had nothing last year had four bluebird eggs.

I greased the pole with axle grease, as I did in other active nests. to keep ants out. Swallows nest in Box 11 and the eggs had just hatched hours ago. The squirmy little nestlings were barely visible in a pile of feathers.

Box 7 nestlings (should be 4) are almost ready to leave. Fully feathered. Parents were attentive.

Box 1 had a new grass nest (bluebird?) but no eggs. The ground in front looks awful from tractor activity:

There is a box alone, 3, whose partner 4 got run over by a tractor. It now finally has swallow eggs. The bulldozed box was an earlier nest with no eggs a few weeks back, probably from the same pair. The female is inside in the second photo.

North Side

Two nestlings left in Box 13, ready to go in a week.