Bluebirds coming along

North Side

I don't check very many of the swallow nests by opening the box, so there may be other nests with nestlings fully grown. However, as I found a swallow inside many boxes, then leaving as I went closer, I believe the majority are just females sitting on eggs.

I made some additions to the box 2 entry from Saturday so those have now fledged.

Box 3 has a full set of 4 bluebird eggs since four days ago, so in about a week they will hatch. Box 13 near the school is a failure with now no eggs, and they will not use this box again. Box 15 had two swallow eggs, now just one broken egg, so also a failure for those swallows.

This box three is close to the pond at the bottom of the prairie and close to the main trail.

South Side

Box 14 with one egg a week ago had nothing now.  The good news is 3 boxes with bluebird netslings right on schedule. The earlier the birds leave the nest, the better they survive in the fall when they have to know how the world works.

For Box 9, the nestlings are the most developed with pin feathers:

The parents of those bird were a bit alarmed by me and twittered around me till I left. There is no harm in visiting a nest, but of course you can try to make the stress as little as possible. The parents, below, never leave a nest with nestlings until all have left the box. Occasionally a "runt" will die a few days after the normal ones leave. I had that maybe twice.

Boxes 11 and 4, one picture each, have nestlings just hatched  this week, the three in Box 4 possibly today. It may be just two, but I am not sure yet.

Tree Swallows twittering

I approached the box and got a few seconds of video on Saturday. They had not left then, but probably have left now due to hot weather.

The iPhone will not use flash so had to get a couple of stills of the same.

The bluebird nest next door was just four blue eggs. South side will be checked Tue or Wed.

May 30

These five or so swallows have left the nest:

A house sparrow male has already claimed the box for the rest of the year:

Both Bluebirds and Swallows have nestlings now

Though most boxes with nest activity have just eggs now, two boxes had nestlings. as you leave the Nature Center on the pond side and walk toward the prairie, you come to a bench. From this bench you can view four boxes. All have big numbers but they are not facing you.

The bigger frames are around Box 1 and Box 2, closer to you (Box 3 and Box 4 are farther behind). The box to the right is Box 2. It has five swallow nestlings ready to leave in a few days, a week at most.  The two bigger ones on top are resting on a slightly smaller one. Box 3 in the photo in the back has four bluebird eggs. Click the photos for a bigger picture.

The Bluebird eggs in Box 3:

On the South side we have bluebird activity (bike path along the railroad tracks, 14 boxes). There are 3 boxes with eggs and one with these nestling 1-2 days old.

These are farther along the trail than the blue dot, about where if makes a slight winding turn to the left of the dot. The very last box, 14, has one bluebird egg, off to the left of the map. There are also six nests with swallows, I believe with just eggs, no nestlings yet on South side.

Greasing the poles

I did not get good pictures on the South side, because my hands were messy most of the morning.  I greased most of the poles with axle grease so that ants do not get up the pole. You can use vaseline, but buy a big jar. I did get one photo of the male parent of the hatched chicks above.

Numerous active nests

I checked all 32 boxes today. That is, I went up to the boxes. I did not open all, as some had very active swallows at the box, such as this one on the North side in the prairie.

Inside most of the boxes with swallows are a nest and feather covering. I found numerous eggs as well, and some accurate counts. These are 1-18 on the North side. SW are swallows, BB are bluebirds. The note NE means no eggs. These boxes have BIG clear numbers. You will be able to watch swallows coming in to feed nestlings in Box 4 in a week or two.

DATE-STATUS 5-17-18

SW NE

House sparrow

Grass nest

Box 4 ...SW 5 eggs

SW

SW eggs

SW inside

SW 4eggs

SW inside

SW 5 eggs

House sp NE

12 SW NE

13 BB 1 egg

SW

SW

empty

SW eggs

SW inside

What was odd was the one egg in Box 13. There were there eggs a week ago. House wrens are known to steal or break eggs, but there was no wren evidence. They nest later in the summer.

Boxes 1-14 on the South side had four BB (Bluebird) nests. One had no eggs.

DATE-STATUS 5-17-18

SW

empty

--

BB 3 eggs

empty

Some grass

SW attack

SW attack

BB 4 eggs

SW

BB 4 eggs

SW

SW 2eggs

BB NE

Ten Bluebird eggs

There are now some 10-11 bluebird eggs. On the North side Box 13 has 3.

On the South side one has the full 4 eggs:

About four of five Bluebird nests found

I only checked the the 14 boxes on the South side today. At the far end near Coyote point, a pair of bluebirds was seen at Box 14. It had the beginnings of a nest. I expect they will complete it. In the middle, Boxes 11,  9 and 7 had complete nests. I saw this bird in a nearby tree.

Then at Box 4 I saw a bluebird going in with grass. No eggs in any of those nests.

Swallow nests or the partial nest of swallows were found in Box 10, 8 and 1 (full nest). The sallows are landing on many nests but not on the ones with bluebird nests as much. They do land on neighbor  nest boxes at this time.

One swallow on box one in nearby bush. The one complete (no eggs) swallow nest is in the first box you come to from hanging bridge:

Koodi

15-32-25