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Tree swallows on the bluebird trail (Part 4)
Date: Sat, 02 Jun 2001 19:16:48 -0500 Hi everyone! I just checked my trail of 26 boxes this afternoon, and found two unusual things. One TREe Swallow nest is lined with Bluebird feathers! They are perfectly aligned like spokes on a wheel. I haven't seen any dead EAstern BLuebirds so I hope they were shed feathers. In another box, there was a TRES nest last week with 5 eggs, and this week when I looked in, there were no eggs. Upon further inspection, there was a nest of fine grasses built over the TRES nest. It sure looks like an EABL nest. I'll have to wait for eggs to know for sure. Also, as I was walking in my back yard next to the woods behind our house, I heard loud chirping. I finally found the source- a cavity in a Poplar tree, with what I believe is a Downy Woodpecker nest. I'll watch to see the parents come to feed them to find out if I'm right. Interesting day in bird land! Mary Roen, River Falls, WI Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2001 08:43:03 -0500 Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas Last year the United States used 930 million acres for production of food and fiber. Texas led the nation in acreage used for farm production at 130 million acres or an area equal to approximately five times the size of Ohio. In the year 2000, over 150,000 farms and ranches reported raising cattle in Texas. Maybe I don't have to worry too much about running out of "rural" places to put up nestboxes. Theories and myths: During cold rainy springs, members of the swallow family will die in nestboxes whether you roughen the front of the box or not. Adult Purple martins and their young die by the thousands some springs and their entrance hole is only 1 inch off the floor and many times the nest is actually above the entrance hole so they could roll over and fall out of the box yet martins that look "ready to fledge" die sitting shoulder to shoulder. Yes some young tree swallows maybe too weak to climb out of a box or hop to the entrance hole and may be found dead in the box but if they are too weak to make a six inch hop are they going to be strong enough to fly? Just because a bird leaves the box does not mean it has survived. Robert M. Patterson in the early 1980's when testing the PVC pipe nestboxes for NABS found that healthy tree swallows could exit these slick pipes even when the nest was 10" below the entrance hole. There are several different vitamin and mineral deficiencies that will lead to symptoms similar to "rickets" in the birds where their legs are not strong enough to hold the weight of their bodies. If these poorly formed birds cannot crawl out of the box then they will die in the box. If their bones cannot lift them to the entrance hole then surely they will not be able to fly. Most hungry predators eat the birds completely feathers and all! Many predators carry off their food and eat it in the safety of brush piles or holes. Hawks and owls often feed from high perches scattering the few feathers they strip off to fly with the wind. If you are finding the primary or secondary wing feathers of song bird feathers now, even a few in your yard or used in nestboxes then you can bet that the bird died to give up those feathers! I am NOT saying that box builders should not "roughen" the inside front of the nestbox but I am saying that if your box is smooth fronted I would NOT rush out and alter the box now while the swallows are already nesting! If they have built a nest and laid eggs then evidently they are having little problems entering and exiting the box. If you feel stressed and worried about a smooth fronted box then wait till the birds quit nesting to alter or change nestboxes. Tree swallows have longer intestines than other species of the swallow family. This suggests that they have evolved to live off of fruits and berries when their normal supply of easily digested insects are not available. It is known that they do indeed eat fruits and berries! Feathers in their nests: House Sparrows, Tree swallows and other birds often pack their nests with feathers. Everyone mentions the fact of the swallows coming to your hand for white feathers. When counting white swallow eggs in a box packed with white feathers how hard is it to count every egg? How much harder and longer does it take for a house sparrow or house wren to remove six eggs from a feather packed tree swallow nest rather than finding them in a bluebird nest? To test "theories" try providing white and black feathers in equal amounts and see which they go for. If they are only looking for texture then color won't matter. Chickadees and titmice don't cover their eggs to keep them warm! Evolution of most other birds shows the eggs hatch fine without this extra work! "My theory" is they have evolved using this trick to present an empty nest look to a hungry flying predator or a house wren hurriedly going about removing eggs! The birds which "hide" their eggs better, choose a "better" nesting location within a species will fledge more young, this trait eventually becomes common in the species. I cringe every time I read where someone is "feeling" around trying to count hidden chickadee and titmice eggs that are covered up or trying to "feel" if "their" birds' eggs are warm! DO NOT DO THIS! THESE EGGS ARE very FRAGILE! Can't we wait a day or two to see how many birds hatch out of eggs rather than chance breaking even ONE of their eggs! DO NOT lift a female bird just to count their eggs or young! DO NOT frighten off the adults just to count! BIRDS are IMPORTANT NOT the NUMBERS in our notebooks! A single invisible crack in a shell will allow bacteria to enter and kill the embryo. This is why a single pin prick will kill house sparrow eggs! I watched a VERY experienced bluebirder show me how to carefully lift a sitting female bluebird one day when I told him I NEVER did this. He told me he did this HUNDREDS of times! He picked her up about 6 inches above the top opening box and I watched in horror as an egg trapped between his fingers and the birds' wing dropped back into the nest and a total of three bluebirds were killed just days away from hatching! Since I caught him literally with egg on his face I asked how he would report this in his records...Well he says , "I'll put down five eggs laid and it looks like only two will hatch." Don't be guilty of trying to add numbers at the expense of the birds! Yes an experienced nestbox monitor can save hundreds of birds but many mistakes are made gaining this experience and every mistake is normally another bird lost! IF you have ANY doubt about ANYTHING you are about to do to your nesting birds then DON'T DO IT because I probably already killed some of my birds trying it! The birds on my trail have paid DEARLY for some of my "knowledge"! Remember! They are NOT "my birds" and they are NOT "your birds" they ARE bluebirds! KK
Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2001 13:21:45 -0500 Hello everyone! Well, I checked my BB trail today to find a TS egg laid in one of the boxes. What's unusual about this is the fact that they just started nest building 2 days ago and only have about 12 pieces of grass circling the inside of the box. The one egg was sitting on the bare wood. I "gently" removed the egg and placed it on some tissue, then placed some pine needles, making a cup the best I could. I then "carefully" placed the egg in this cup which puts it about 1" above the wood floor. I then left a pile of goose down feathers about 1' away. As I was walking away they seemed to start grabbing the feathers and taking them into the nest. as I knew they would .......any thoughts on why the TS pair would lay an egg without a nest?? My only conclusion would be that is sooo late in the season and they are pressed for time if you will. Thanks For Your Time,
Date: Sun, 03 Jun 2001 13:57:46 -0500 Leah, There were 5 TREe Swallow eggs in the lower nest, and a nest of fine grasses was built over the top of the eggs. I saw no parent TRESs or EAstern BLuebirds in the vincinity while I was there. I am going out now to take some pictures of the TRES nest with the EABL feathers in it. Mary Roen, River Falls, WI Hi, Mary!
Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2001 17:28:53 -0600 .......any ~~~~~~~~ Chances are this is a second attempt at a nesting by this particular female. Perhaps her eggs were destroyed/her first nesting attempt was disrupted in some way (predation etc.) Many Tree Swallows here in southern Wisconsin build very shallow nests with a "dip" to lay the eggs in rather than the nice, neat "cup" of the Eastern Bluebird. Ann Wick
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2001 08:57:13 -0400 Judy, et al, Your remark about Tree Swallows nesting in both paired houses 10 -12 feet apart caught my attention. In 7 years of pairing (10 - 15 feet apart) I have never once had the Tree Swallows nest in BOTH boxes of a pair, though nearly EVERY pair, - about 90% of my pairs, - has 1 Tree Swallow nesting. Bluebirds nest in the other house at about 65% of my 'sites.' After their 1 nesting the Tree Swallows normally disappear from the neighborhood.. Your experience and mine, taken together, must say something about the relative density of the Tree Swallow population in our two areas, namely the Midwest and New England. I had thought that our local population was quite dense, but apparently yours is denser (more dense) still. I persist in thinking that NH is still a relatively Bluebird-poor section of the country. Are there other areas to be heard from on this subject, like FL, WA? Bruce Burdett, NH Bluebird Conspiracy, SW NH P.S. Thank you all, incidentally, for the many brilliant suggestions about Passive Black-fly Control. (Luster still "just whops 'em dead.")
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2001 11:44:27 -0500 I observed an unusual fight the other day while checking my boxes. As I was approaching a box that contained a Tree Swallow nest I heard an awful commotion going on inside. I looked through the hole and it looked like there were two birds inside fighting. They were making all sorts of noise and actually shaking the box from the battle. I tapped on the side of the box and a male Tree Swallow flew out. When I opened the box, another male Tree Swallow was sitting inside (on a completed nest with no eggs) and flew out. This box had recently been predated upon by something that removed all of the nest and the eight Tree Swallow eggs that were in it. Makes me wonder if the intruder male was the one that removed all of the previous nest and contents. Does anybody have any information or observations of Tree Swallows removing nest/eggs from other nestboxes?? Thanks--- Jay Gilliam -----Original Message----- From: Robin Kolberg [mailto:robinkol"at"msn.com] This is my 2nd season of trail-monitoring. As I walked my trail yesterday, I noticed that one of my well-established boxes (6 hatchlings) had fledged that day, & the original nest remained inside. I also noticed that 2 male adult bluebirds were fighting with each other in close proximity to the female. I set out the mealy worms & watched this for awhile. The female went about her business of eating & bringing worms to the hatchlings who I presumed to be in a nearby tree (I could not see them), while the males continued to duke it out. They fought on top of the box, at the feeder, & they fought constantly. I watched this for 5 minutes before my dog got too impatient with me & demanded that we continue our trail walk. Why would a male challenge an established nest like this? Could this be an old rivalry? Robin Kolberg _____
Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 09:28:17 -0400 Yesterday I was watching as the TRES in my yard were feeding their young. A HOSP entered the area and perched in a nearby tree. Immediately the male TRES divebombed him and they battled with each other right to the ground. The HOSP, losing the battle, took off. About 5 minutes later the HOSP returned to a nearby tree and the TRES and the EABL males (both of which have nestboxes in my yard) streaked towards the HOSP like two rockets and attacked him from both sides. They beat the living he.. out him and he flew off and they returned to their boxes. It is nice to see the "good guys" sticking together and winning over the "bad guys." This battle was won, but the war will always continue. This may sound a little corny to those of you who have never had HOSP problems, but I know that those who have had HOSP problems can relate to this simple joyous occasion. Larry Zapotocky
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 08:10:38 -0500 There were two Mom Tree Swallows nesting in the Martin House yesterday. One
had taken the apartment on the first level (1A) and the second one had taken the
apartment on the second level (1B). They were sitting in the hole with their
heads sticking out. It was awfully hot and humid yesterday and is About a couple of hours before dark, Mom in 1A flew out and, as far as I know, did not return. However, I have discovered that if they go completely in the apartment, I cannot tell they are in there. This is only one side of the Martin House. I cannot see the other side. Pop, the mate of Mom in 1B flew up and stayed with her for a long, long time. In fact, he even flew down to my deck rail (second story deck) where I have a water pan set up and took a drink. He's the first to do so since I've had the water pan up there for about two weeks. I also put out a little dish of dried cranberries but haven't had any bird to try those either. (I put all that out for the Bluebirds but they haven't taking advantage of it yet. One BB did fly very close to it as if he was taking a look to see what all that was.) After Pop took his drink, he went right back up to Mom and they stayed that way until dark and I couldn't see them anymore. I don't know if Mom in 1A returned or not. This morning while I was sitting on the same deck having coffee, about four of the Tree Swallows came swooping by real close to the deck and chattering. They didn't come up on the deck, this time, like they did earlier in the spring. That time they flew around my head chattering. A little scary at first. Also, Mom in 1B is still sitting in the hole with her head out this morning. She left once but came right back. I don't know if anymore are in there or not as I can't see them if they don't have their heads out. That's all I can report at this time. I'm still hoping the rest of them are in their apartments or will return soon. Dottie, Brown County, Indiana Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 15:14:07 -0500 Emmy Lou, I KNOW what you are going through! I have had to go through the same thing abut a month ago...below is a link that I hope you read and follow. The link is to a gentlemen named Dan Drew with his TS-PM protocol. http://netdirect.net/~dandrew/EMERGENCY/TS-PM_TABLE.html The PMCA (Purple Martin Conservation Association) http://www.purplemartin.org/ ALSO recommends following his advice. His e-mail is also on the site if you have any further questions... I know him personally, and I'm sure he, as I, would be happy to walk you through this. You are not alone! =) The PM season is late this year, and depending where you are there IS still a chance to get sub adults! Best Of Luck To You! Sarah McLaughlin Okay- now the tree swallows are nesting and even feeding young. So we put up the PM house and the TS came to nest there too. There is more than one pair around. So we again took down the PM house. We have more houses the TS could use but they are only using one. They are far enough a part but up to them. Went to an adjoining lake and saw 3 PM houses with lots of TS. There was a big ruckus. Saw 2 PM, seemed one me and one if. The TS chased them away. There is a long standing PM house across the lake. When can we get the PM if the TS continue to chase them away? By the time the TS leave, the PM will be done nesting too. Any solutions or ideas. Thank you!!- Emmy Lou Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 09:28:56 -0400 In case anyone is still left on the Cornell list, I have been wondering about
the strange behavior of my tree swallows (TRES). This is the pair attacked by a
male house sparrow (HOSP) a few days ago, where we managed to capture the HOSP
in the box with no damage to the chicks. The many feathers in this nest had been
badly disarranged and completely covered the chicks, so I was not surprised to
see the TRES removing some of them. However, they are still removing at least
one feather a day, which is odd enough, but they drop the feathers right under
the box. I would have thought they would carry them, like the fecal sacs, away
from the nest so as not to attract the attention of predators. In addition, this
previously placid pair has been attacking everything in the entire large back
yard, and not just cavity-nesting competitors, either. They chase hummingbirds,
robins, catbirds, warblers, phoebes, and especially Dot (Lake Ontario snowbelt north of Syracuse NY) Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 10:25:11 -0400 Bill & Dot Forrester wrote: In case anyone is still left on the Cornell list, I have been wondering ... I thought this list had been suspended, but since I have been getting mail, I guess it must still be up. This is the first year I have had TRES, and you may remember that their nest was raided by a House wren, and then recaptured by the swallows. When the TRES began laying, there were very few feathers in the box, and after the wren attack, there were fewer still. But the TRES continued to add feathers. A day or so later, I found several feathers on the ground, right under the nestbox, and I thought the wren had been at it again. You can imagine my relief when I looked in and found the three eggs intact, and many feathers still in the nest. Some days later, I saw another feather stuck at the entrance to the box, and wondered whether the swallow had been trying to push it out... the feather later disappeared. I surmise from this that once they have a surplus of feathers to work with, the birds adjust the number and type of feathers in the nest until they get exactly the arrangement they want. As for vigilance, they do seem to be much more vigilant since the wren attack; that HOWR or another is now claiming the Gilbertson box 15 ft. away that the BCCH fledged from, and I have seen the swallows dive-bomb the wren on occasion, although they don't seem to be as aggressive as yours. Then again, we don't have bunnies, only chipmunks, and most of those are in my flower garden. :-) -- Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 20:27:24 -0400 I have some TRES nesting in boxes in the front part of my property. I had noticed what I thought was another TRES nest on top of a light fixture behind the house, but today I got a good look at that bird, and it is a barn swallow. Are these two species of birds compatible? IOW will they compete or harm one another? I also have a little house wren nesting on my kitchen window sill. I'm amazed at the volume of noise that comes out of this teeny tiny bird. She's about 50' from the TRES, but I have never seen her near their nestbox. Anything I should be doing? -Theresa"at"BowEcho.com Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 20:39:39 -0400 Theresa, et al, No, there's nothing you should be doing, and not much you can do, anyway, (in my opinion) They'll work it out, as they have for a long, long, time. As far as I know, these swallows are compatible with each other. Probably the Barn Swallows will harass the cats and dogs in the vicinity but won't hurt them. They may even buzz YOU now and then. Stare them down, and enjoy it. Bruce Burdett, SW NH Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2001 22:33:17 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 08:32:50 -0500 I had two visitors yesterday sent out by Dan Drew to look at our Martin House and try to figure out what was happening. Both of these fellows, Phil and Dennis, have large Purple Martin gourd Colonies. Dennis lives just down the road from me and Phil lives about 10 miles away in Gnaw Bone (how's that for a town name). I didn't have to give them much history as they had been informed by Dan as to what was occurring here. We took down the Martin House and they confirmed that all the nests were Tree Swallows nests. They said there was no doubt about this especially since there were feathers in the nest. (I know now what you mean by feathers from heaven.) They looked the eggs over and confirmed they were Tree Swallow eggs and that the egg with the crack around the middle was getting ready to hatch. Unfortunately, we could not find the dead bird as something had carried it off. But we gave them a description and they said it had to be a Tree Swallow especially since it was in an apartment next to the eggs. They think it was an old bird and just died there. My husband and I could not find any marks on the bird at all. Fortunately, I took pictures of it. They also said that something had to have happened for the Tree Swallows to leave the eggs. Tree Swallows just don't leave their eggs like that. (The Tree Swallows have not returned) They couldn't figure out why the Tree Swallows would leave their eggs but my husband thinks it was because of the dead Tree Swallow. We had awfully hot days and the smell itself probably wasn't very nice. They were also surprised about how the Tree Swallows were mating and just sitting (all together) in the dead tree next to the Martin House. They did this for about three or more days. They said that if the Tree Swallows had not left that I would have had people wanting to come here to see what was happening. That would have been fun! Bottom line is that it is confirmed they were Tree Swallows but we still don't know why they would behave in this manner. Had I known this was strange behavior, I would have been video taping. I have the pictures that I took (will get them developed when the roll is finished) and all the e-mails and posts and I thought I would put all in a photo album for future reference-just in case. Perhaps someone, in the future, may have a similar thing to happen and could use the material. Thanks, Dot, for letting me know that this was a strange thing I had going on. You got me started investigating and I have learned a lot about Tree Swallows and made some new friends to boot. Thanks, Dan, for all your help and for sending Dennis and Phil to us. We are getting rid of the "death trap" and putting up a gourd colony. In fact, next time I go to Greenwood, I'm stopping at Lowes and talking to the store manager about these Martin Houses they are selling. Thanks to Dennis and Phil for taking the time to come out and investigate our "mystery" and for educating us on Tree Swallows and Martins. And thanks to Dennis for allowing us to come to his home to see his awesome gourd colony. It was fantastic! Both Dennis and Phil have volunteered to help us get our gourd colony up and going. Dennis thinks we can get some of his babies next year. I'm going to be watching for Dennis' Martins to come flying over our trees. He said he heard them a couple of times yesterday afternoon while out on my deck. This is what it's all about, isn't it? Helping the birds and each other! When I get my pictures back, I will scan them and put them out as an attachment to anyone who would like them. I don't know how to do it any other way. Good birding! Dottie, Brown County, Indiana Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 11:56:54 -0400 Lynn Ward, South Central Michigan I had the pleasure of watching several TREe Swallows fledge while on vacation this week. The process took a couple of days and Sunday night, the whole family seemed to be encouraging the last one to leave the safety of his/her box. He or she finally fledged during thunderstorms Monday morning. Shortly afterwards, when I cleaned out the box I found one TRES (there were a total of six nestlings) dead, lying face down. It looked to be of the age of a fledgling and had probably been dead a day or two. I can't figure out any reason for this. My question is this: do nestlings get trampled or forgotten during the fledging process? As I watched the fledging process, I would see constant feeding of whoever had its head poking out and not of any others that still might be in the box. Could one have not been fed, got weak, and finally died? The only other thing I noticed (besides a filthy nest) was that the box was crawling with thousands of mites. Thanks to whoever could shed some light on this death of a seemingly healthy bird that should have fledged along with the others. Four EAstern BLuebirds ready to fledge today or tomorrow - hope to catch the action on this box too! Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 16:31:48 -0400 Lynn Ward, et al, A few that occur to me are: excessive heat in the house, too much damp cold, one or more kinds of internal parasites, blood-sucking insects, insecticide-tainted food, Chemlawn in the neighborhood, or a possible genetic flaw. (birth defect) My most likely guess is that a runt chick simply couldn't compete with his sturdier siblings and became undernourished. A large percentage of clutches have runts; some can make it and some don't. That can be a vicious circle. The more undernourished he becomes, the less able he is to compete - a sort of galloping debilitation. In the final analysis, the weakened individual will succumb to things which do not kill his nest-mates. One thing is probably certain; the fault was NOT yours. And fortunately we have no shortage of Tree Swallows; their reproduction rates are generally high. Bruce Burdett, SW NH Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2001 08:38:19 -0400 (EDT) Hi all, Kevin Bloom of Penn. has a pair of Tree Swallows that fledged 6 young two weeks ago and now he thinks this same pair is nesting again. He claims this pair have not dived bombed him like others do so by their actions are the same ones that had a previous nest. How many out there have suspected second nestings from one pair of Tree Swallows? Kevin wants to know about this. He also wants to know where he can get a good book on Tree Swallows. Any one that can help send info to Kevin. Address is above in to section of this message. Thanks Joe Huber Venice Fl. Charter member NABS, Charter member OBS, Life member OBS Joe Huber http://community.webtv.net/hubertrap/HOUSESPARROWCONTROL http://community.webtv.net/hubertrap/RoostingBluebirds Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2001 09:14:19 -0400 Hi All, Regarding the TRES second brood debate. According to the BNA (Birds of North
America) series on TRES, written by R.J. Robertson, B.J. Stutchbury, " Second broods (as opposed to renests) rare except in southern part of range.... Low weights of late broods and concurrent molt of flight feathers indicate late broods may pose conflicting energy demands for parents." In other words, for TRES, the act of expending energy to molt AND deliver food to young, may be too much for the parents to handle. I don't know why this would only make a difference for TRES and not other songbirds such as bluebirds who also molt, albeit, a bit later in the season than TRES. I can only guess that it has something to do with abundance of food resources, since EABL's will readily supplement their diet with a variety of berries, while TRES are more selective in their choice of fruit, which is limited to mostly bayberries. Any one have any other theories? Tina At 08:30 PM 6/19/01 -0700, you wrote: Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2001 12:18:01 -0700 Theories abound! Each of us has our own unique stories about this species but here is some information from John Eastman's Birds of Field and Shore (and, please remember- his research is on eastern birds): "Tree swallows are slow to begin nesting, usually in May. Nest building, done by the female, can encompass several days to 2 weeks and egg laying may not begin for a week or two after nest completion. ... Nest building usually occurs only in the morning. ... Territorial disputes, attacks and chases commonly occur before incubation begins. The birds' fierceness extends to other occupied nests: a male tree swallow moving in to replace a dead or missing male will often kill nestlings of the widowed mate before breeding with her and claiming the same nest site (note from Judy: this seems to dispel his statement that this species has only one nesting!) ... Before and sometimes even during incubation, tree swallows may completely abandon the nesting area for up to several days. Eggs already laid do not seem to lose viability. This behavior may be related to the temporary lack of aerial insect food during cold or wet weather; the birds may fly 20 miles or more to forage elsewhere. This volitional abandonment of territory for such lengthy durations- thus far seen in no other North American species- is a remarkable adaptation for a bird dependent on aerial insect prey." This seems to support Tina's words on lack of insects but does not talk about the molting factor. I agree with her: since all birds molt, it would seem strange that only this one would expend so much energy that it could not renest. I wonder, though, that the fact that it will travel up to 20 miles for food would be contributing factor? Judy Mellin ... Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 17:00:08 -0400 I just wanted to drop this note. After dealing with HOSPs and HOWRs and moving the nesting box 100 times(OK maybe not that many, but close!) we found feathers in the new box. Well I have been diligently reading my mail and learning about how the TRES will put their feathers into the box. Boy was I depressed. Watched the EABB today and after she had spent several days building a beautiful and very deep cup (she is learning too) she would not go anywhere near the box. Both male and I were very upset. Of course I had seen all of the swallows flying over the house so I knew who the little devils were. Well, I went back to the nest, pulled a feather out and as I was deciding whether to clean out the nest I went to grab another feather and lo and behold 1 beautiful blue egg! This is just a long winded (I need to talk to someone about these birds, my friends think I am losing it) warning to all of those inexperienced bluebirders like me to be careful. This was our fourth nest this year and the first one lined with feathers. Hanging in there, Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 08:22:11 -0400 Cynthia, et al, Also, I can say positively that Tree Swallow nests in NH are always festooned with feathers, usually white or light grey, though they sometimes use kleenex as a substitute. Bluebird nests are always devoid of feathers. I gather that NH is not the only state where this is true, but we'd be interested to hear from FL, CA, WA, WI, OH, etc. I deliberately did not post my views on pairing to the whole List. They are
not shared by some folks here and there around the country where the
Bluebird-to-Tree Swallow ratio is apparently different from ours. Pairing is a
controversial subject among bluebirders in No. America. and one should Bruce Burdett, SW NH, blueburd"at"srnet.com Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 09:28:44 -0400 To: The Constituency, Rhonda Watts, right up here in Wilton NH, mentions a phenomenon that I have never witnessed here in Sunapee. She says she has had TRES nesting in BOTH houses of a pair, 8 feet apart. I have never seen that happen. In my experience, when TRES take one house of a pair, the second house either has Bluebirds or remains empty. On very rare occasions the other house has been taken by Chickadees, House Wrens, or House Sparrows. The next nearest pair of houses is never closer than 400 feet. About 90% of my pairs have one (1) TRES nesting, and one only. Bruce Burdett, NH Bluebird Conspiracy, Sunapee NH
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 09:27:00 -0500 -----Original Message----- From: Bruce Burdett blueburd"at"srnet.com "To: The Constituency, Rhonda Watts, right up here in Wilton NH, mentions a phenomenon that I have never witnessed here in Sunapee. She says she has had TRES nesting in BOTH houses of a pair, 8 feet apart." Bruce and all, Remember my Martin House mystery. All 12 apartments had either full or partial Tree Swallow nests complete feathers and eggs. Are things changing? And if so, for what reason? Development perhaps? I'm getting ready to pair my BB boxes when I put up my PM gourd colony. (I hope to get the gourds ordered from PMCA today.) I am hoping for all three: BB's, Tree Swallows and PM's. It will be interesting to find out if I will get just Tree Swallows. Question: Can and do BB's defend themselves successfully from Tree Swallows? I have this BB box that had four BB eggs. Then it only had two BB's eggs and a feather (a feather like the kind the Tree Swallows put in the Martin House nests--looked like a chicken feather) I put the feather over the remaining two BB eggs to see what would happen. Next time I checked, the feather was gone. I felt the remaining two BB eggs and they felt real warm. I checked the box yesterday and the two eggs are still in there ok. I'm hoping mom is still sitting on them but, maybe, the Tree Swallow (if that is what put the feather in there) scarred her away. Any ideas? Bruce, thanks for your posts.
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 13:30:59 EDT Rhonda Watts, right up here in Wilton NH, mentions a phenomenon that I have never witnessed here in Sunapee. She says she has had TRES nesting in BOTH houses of a pair, 8 feet apart. It's actually the second time it's happened. The other was probably 5-6 years ago, same field, though the boxes that time were more like 12-15 feet apart. And there *is* at least one more box, unpaired, unclaimed, only 100 yards or so away on the other side of a farm lane and tree line. (Plus others quite a bit further away.) Go figure. The darned birds just refuse to read the right books. Rhonda Watts
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 02:55:55 Joe Schultz I have heard of Tree Swallows taking up residence in a pair of nest boxes before. This information came from a pair of professors in Milwaukee who constructed a Tree Swallow grid in order to study this species. I think a grid is just a bunch of paired boxes in a small area that are taken over by Tree Swallows. The only other grid I ever heard of was from Kevin Bloom who I think is still on this list.He posted a while back that someone was mowing the lawn on his grid and the Tres were on the attack.It would be nice if Kevin would write and tell us about his grid.I live in the east zone of the state that is thick with Tree Swallows.Last Saturday I was checking a box and 13 swallows were circling and defending that box.The only thing is that the box was empty.All had fledged!
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 23:07:07 -0400 Dottie, I am not sure the address should have all the "......" at the start. Please forward my message to Carla in case the address I sent it to is not correct. One adult is normally able to feed the babies, and with only one surviving baby, it should be easy. For the first few days after a hatch, the mother is needed to keep the babies warm. But now the weather is very warm. Also, once the babies are over a few days old, they can keep warm on their own. I hope you don't get the House Sparrow back. If you see the father Bluebird feeding the baby, then there is little else to worry about. If it makes you feel better, you can offer some mealworms (not essential except for making you feel better and enjoy seeing how the father will use the worms to feed the baby.) Fawzi in MD ----- Original Message ----- From: "dottie price" yumyumkatts"at"voyager.net ... Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 22:52:31 -0700 Intended this for the list. Hatch Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 22:45:08 -0700 I have a 70 box trail. It includes 20 paired boxes. They are 12 to 15 feet apart. In six years, I have never had both boxes in a pair occupied simultaneously by TRES. This year is the first. Two clutches have just hatched about 3 days apart. Since it's the only time in six seasons with over half having second clutches, I figure we've probably had 180 chances for the TRES to double up. I can stand one occasionally. Our pairings are usually with the swallows and blues (Western, here) but also with Ash-throated Flycatchers, Oak Titmouse, and House Wrens. Of course, the other half of the pair is often empty, too. I'll, of course, watch to see if this is a new trend but right now it's only remarkable because it's so unusual. Hatch Graham Bruce Burdett wrote: To: The Constituency,
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 22:53:12 -0700 Intended this for the list. Hatch Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 22:30:13 -0700 You can take the nestlings out by gently cupping your hand around them. If they are very small, take two or three at a time. They are used to being packed together in a nest. I often place a bandanna or hankerchief in my hat and place them there. Then pick up the dead one -- it may smell but it won't hurt you and give it a toss. The ants or other scavengers will appreciate it. Look carefully at the other nestlings to make sure they don't have blowfly larvae attached to their feet and legs. Not likely when very small. If there is no infestation of ants or mites and the nest is dry, the chick most likely died of natural causes. Return the nestlings and they should be okay. A single nestling succumbing to cold or some other malady is a common occurrence. Many monitors never notice. They mummify and are not very apparent as the rest of the brood feathers out and eventually fledge. The dead carcass will be completely covered with droppings by the time the rest leave the nest. There seldom is contagion involved and an overly concern with cleanliness is uncalled for. We humans often equate cleanliness with godliness but were it not for House Sparrows, Starlings, and habitat encroachment and destruction, cavity-nesters would be out of sight in natural cavities and such mortality would go unseen without our intervention. And the cavity-nesters would do just fine. I realize that nature's way is shocking to many and dismaying as well. I am not advocating a hands off attitude, either. As nestbox landlords we have a responsibility to care for our tenants. But some losses are beyond our abilities to prevent. I arrived at a Mountain Chickadee nestbox this morning. It is located at 8800 ft elevation near the crest of the Sierra Nevada. We had experienced the warmest month of May ever in the Sacramento-San Joaquin valley. The snow was nearly gone by the end of May and my wife and I made our first visit on May 31, the earliest in the 5 years we've had that trail. It so happened that we had a cold storm come in on Tuesday and Wednesday with rain. Though there was no sign of frost, the temperature was 59 degrees this morning with a brisk wind. I had already banded two clutches of 7 chickadees. This one had seven also, but 3 were dead. From the size, I expect they died last night. Also, the nesting material was more scant than the other two nests. I carry a soft dustrag with me and cut off a chunk to better insulated this nest which the parents had done so poorly. I banded the remaining four and put them back in with their blue comforter. These four brought my year's total of banded cavity-nesters to 1107. They were not the first losses but we've probably lost less than 25 -- mostly to heat at lower elevations. Only one or two died between banding and fledging. Losses are always sad, but some are inevitable. Hatch Graham RRCRLEP"at"aol.com wrote: When I checked my Violet-green Swallow nest box this evening there was an
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 10:03:24 -0400 Hatch Graham wrote: A single nestling succumbing to cold or some other malady is a common occurrence. ... I appreciated this post, Hatch, since I have become a tree-swallow landlord this year for the first time. After an initial House Wren attack, the TRES laid three more eggs and they all hatched. I have checked the nest every three days or so since hatching, and as of last weekend all three were alive although one was much smaller than the others. I thought it might have hatched later. Wednesday I checked the nest again, and since the TRES were 11-12 days old, I figured it would be my last check before they fledge. Look as I might (I didn't touch them), I could only discern two nestlings, now fully feathered but not yet looking as though they had any intention of leaving. I fear the third has died, and as you point out, it may be lying beneath the two healthy nestlings. At this late date I don't feel I should remove the healthy birds in order to remove the dead one, and I'm even afraid to check the box again at this point. Nothing I could do would change the situation anyway. I'm pretty sure the other two are ok, since I hear chirping inside the box if I approach, and I see the parents going in and coming out with fecal sacs. I know there is a wide range of fledge dates for tree swallows (I have read 16-25 days) and they are now 14 days old. Is it too late to check the box one more time? How can one tell if they are near fledging from external observation? So far I have dealt only with titmice, chickadees and house wrens, and have no experience with TRES. Any information would be appreciated. -- Katherine
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 23:18:11 -0400 Karen, your SOS is so critical, I'm putting it on the listserve. Hope you don't mind. I'll answer the best I know in caps below, in the body of your message. I'm hoping others from the listserve will chip in with advice. Randy Jones ----- Original Message ----- From: "Karen Deeds-Jarvie" deeds"at"bghost.net Baby TRES in trouble. Parents appear to have abandoned nest after HOSP took
it I SERIOUSLY DOUBT IF YOU CAN FOSTERACROSS SPECIES. AND IF YOU FOSTER INTO ANOTHER TRES NEST, YOU MAY START A WAR, SINCE THE TRUE PARENTS ARE STILL AROUND. . If we take the pinwheels back down the TRY MONOFILAMENT FISHING LINE. THERE'VE BEEN A NUMBER OF POSTS ABOUT HOW TO DO THIS INCLUDING A WEBSITE. FAWZI, CAN YOU PICK UP ON THIS? And oh yes, our sparrow eggs (2 of them at least) hatched despite my pricking FOR NOW, PROBABLY WISE. LATER YOU WILL WANT TO DEAL WITH THE SPARROWS. My husband is about ready to run for the hills. He says he can't take KAREN AND WONDERFUL HUSBAND, I WISH YOU COULD GET THESE BABIES TO A REHABBER. 24 HOURS IS ALL THE TIME THEY CAN GO WITHOUT FOOD, AND YOU ARE NOT CUT OUT TO BE TRES PARENTS. YOU MAY LOSE THIS ONE. AFTER THE EMERGENCY IS OVER, LET'S TALK ABOUT SPARROWS. SORRY I WASN'T HOME WHEN YOU EMAILED, AND YOU ARE NOW GETTING AN ANSWER SO LATE. I'LL CHECK MY EMAIL IN THE MORNING TO SEE IF I CAN DO ANY MORE. SORRY NOT TO HAVE EASY ANSWERS, OR, IN FACT, ANY ANSWERS. MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU. RANDY
Date: Fri, 06 Jul 2001 16:19:48 -0400 It's a beautiful day here in Weston, and the tree swallows are on the wing. I am pleased (actually, I'm thrilled) to report that all three TRES in my nestbox have fledged. It has been an interesting experience, apart from the initial house wren setback, because the birds I have had nesting up to now - 'dees, titmice, house wrens - fledge at a younger age and do less peering out and "porch sitting" beforehand. Tree Swallows are very strong fliers the minute they exit the box, and most are independent from that moment, except (I have read) for an occasional feeding in the first couple of days, unlike many other birds whose parents feed them for several weeks. This makes sense, because tree swallows are aerial foragers, and it's difficult to feed a fledgling when both birds are on the wing. So they need to stay in the box longer, gaining weight and gathering strength. Anyway, here's the story, for whomever it may interest. Yesterday was a mixed bag, weatherwise: nice in the morning, then violent rainstorms during part of the afternoon. I couldn't sit watching all day as I had done on Wednesday, but I looked out from time to time, and there was always a little face peering out of the nestbox, or a parent arriving with a care package. Around 4 pm I looked out and heard great chirpings, and the sky was full of swallows, or so it seemed - I could count three (or four?) at a time.. and I thought "They've fledged!!" But then I saw the face in the nest box and I thought, "Maybe they haven't fledged. Maybe the parents were chasing intruder swallows." The activity at the box, meanwhile, seemed to have diminished. At 7:55, after a downpour, I went out again, and there was the little face. This time, though, he seemed very restless. Mother came to feed him once, and then perched on a phone wire about 50 feet away and sat there, not moving or calling, in his direct line of vision. He looked up, down, around, for about ten minutes... gaped a little, chirped a little. Then he began to chirp repeatedly, I could see the little feet clambering to get a grip on the inside edge of the hole, the shoulders maneuvering further out of the box, until with a cascade of chirps he was gone! Off and flying, soaring, chirping, high above the trees, high above the wires. No tentative hops for this little fellow! Mother went with him - off the wire and up by his side, his escort to the great outdoors. After a minute she came back down, returned to the box and looked in. Almost immediately, another face appeared. More tentatively, this nestling peered out, and by now it was 8:15. I sat and waited, but mother did not. She left the scene and did not return. At about 8:40, with night falling and the sky heavy with clouds, the not-yet-fledgling retreated into the box and I went back indoors. Oh, well, tomorrow is another day. This morning, although I had intended to be at my post before 6, it was 7:00 before I managed to rouse myself and look outdoors. No face appeared at the nestbox, but a tree swallow was dive-bombing a blue jay perched atop the maple by the road. I watched until the jay flew off, and so did the swallow. I surmised that the last fledgling had left the nest shortly before that, and mother was making sure there was no danger lurking in the vicinity. After seeing no further activity all morning, I checked the box at noon. To my great delight, I found it empty. No little corpses, no unhatched eggs. So my conclusion is that all three nestlings survived to fledge: the first one at 4 pm yesterday, the second at 8:10, and the last (could that have been the tiny runtling?) sometime before seven this morning. They were 20 days old. No one who hasn't witnessed it can imagine the thrill of seeing a bird leave the nestbox for the first time. To see a new swallow soaring and chirping - seemingly for the mere joy of being alive, calling, "Here I am, I did it!!!" - was truly exhilarating. Today I feel lonely and let down, but I know they are off to a good start. I wish them, and all their fellows, godspeed. Katherine
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 20:44:14 -0400 I have a unusual situation that has been occuring for the past week and hoping that someone may have a theory. For the past week I have been finding single white feathers on the lawn within a 50 foot radius of the bird feeders. These appear to be white duck feathers (very similar to the ones we found in the tree swallow nest located 3 1/2 acres away from the house). We do have a farmer 1/4 of a mile down the road who has a pond and raises white ducks, but we have never seen feathers appear like this before. (No we have never seen the ducks any where on the property). Also when I was standing under a pine tree on Saturday a white feather gently floated down to land at my feet. We have several TRES in the area, but do they "play" with feathers after fledging? Any ideas on this? Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 08:31:49 -0500 Hi Kimmarie--- I can't say for sure where your feathers are coming from. But I can say that the TRES in my area cannot resist a feather, even after fledging. One will get the feather and fly around with it then drop it to another one who will repeat what the first one did. They are more interested in feathers as they are building nests but they will still play with them even after nesting season is over. Jay Gilliam -----Original Message----- I have a unusual situation that has been occuring for the past week and hoping that someone may have a theory. For the past week I have been finding single white feathers on the lawn
within a 50 foot radius of the bird feeders. These appear to be white duck
feathers (very similar to the ones we found in the tree swallow nest located 3
1/2 acres away from the house). We do have a farmer 1/4 of a mile down the road
who has a pond and raises white ducks, but we have never seen feathers appear
like this before. (No we have never seen the ducks any where on Any ideas on this? Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 13:09:53 -0400 OK, Karen. I'm putting it on the listserve in hopes someone on the list may be able to help. I can't. Sorry, but I have no experience or knowledge here. Good luck. Summarizing the dilemma: rehabber has hand-fed five tree swallow fledglings brought to her by Karen when the parents abandoned them. Two fledglings just died, three are left, and rehabber seems unsure how to help them fledge. NEEDS HELP NO LATER THAN FRIDAY. Write directly to Karen Deeds-Jarvie (deeds"at"bghost.net). Randy Jones Randy, Karen :-) HELP! P.S. She said she is still feeding them, and will continue to do so if they don't fledge. But there are no TRES adults in her city neighborhood. Bird activity here has been light too, due to the heat the last few days. But the TRES parents do seem to come back in early evening, as do others. Hopefully there will be some parent around to help out these little guys. Our bluebird male is perching and singing again on the sealed box. Sparrows haven't ventured into the trap boxes yet, because of the heat. But they are looking. We need to get the wheat out of the field in order to eliminate the sparrow problem. That's when things got bad here. Please advise. ----- Original Message ----- I have some sad news. I lost one of the weaker birds on Saturday and one today. The three that are remaining seem to be very healthy. They are fledging now and we need to get them out. I am off on Friday and wonder if it is possible to release them at your place. We know that there are swallows there. I am praying the others will not succumb by then. It is very hard to raise them for this long only to lose them. I have to work today from 12:45 to 9:30 so I will read my email when I get home. I am so sorry! Let me know....Marti Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 13:08:14 -0400 Thanks to all who responded to my question regarding the mystery of the white ducks feathers I was finding on the property. I am happy to announce that sometime between Thursday and Saturday the TRES box fledged. We again found fresh clean white feathers surrounding the area and witnessed 3 TRES "playing" with more feathers in mid air. We checked the nest. All was well, no dead chicks, no sign of mites or blow flies. I hope they come back next year... this has been exciting for us (it's our first year with nest boxes) and we are determined to find more appropriate places to put boxes up next year. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement, patience and words of advice! kimmarie :)
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 09:59:19 -0700 Hi Bluebirds (and other cavity nester afficionados), I have had this list on suspension since things started to heat up in May, so I have missed the goings on here. I'm back until about the middle of September. My news is that I have an EXTREMELY late nesting of Violet-Green Swallows (VGSW) in my home nest box. I don't believe that this is the same pair that nested successfully much earlier, but the pair that was hanging around when the young were about to fledge at the end of June. I saw no nest building activity, but did see what I thought was nighttime roosting until frequent daytime visits were noted and then cheeping started. The sad thing is that VGSWs are very earlier migrants and most are gone by now. These guys aren't scheduled to fledge until around the first of September, so there is a fear that the parents' migratory hormones will kick in before they are done. I believe that there was an abandonment during another late nesting on my "trail" a couple of years ago. And these birds are experiencing decreasing daylight (i.e., fewer feedings): where the first pair had 17 hours, these guys have around 14 and decreasing rapidly. Will that have a deleterious effect? I also wonder if our local rehabber has ever taken over abandoned swallows before.... -Marsie
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 09:59:36 -0700 Hi All! I can just tell all you bluebirders have been waiting with bated breath to hear the news ;-) It appears that you have been occupying your time talking about late nesting and departing BBs, but I just know that in the back of your minds you've been wondering about "my" charges. I thought disaster had struck Monday night when the rain moved in (great for alleviating forest fires, but not good for nestling swallows). Until this morning I had not seen any sign of the parents since Sunday. I guess that the fact that the nestlings were still alive and begging on Wednesday morning was a hint, but I was feeling quite depressed. Then yesterday when I got home before dusk there was a swallow sitting on the top of the box out of the pouring rain (the box is located up under a two foot roof overhang). It flew off briefly when the rain let up, calling all the while - A FLEDGLING! As it flew around it made twists and turns indicating it was at least trying to catch food. But no parent in sight.... Finally, as I was leaving for work this morning, I caught sight of mom feeding the remaing nestlings. The fledgling wasn't in sight, but I know for a fact that they WILL return to the box and continue begging from there as if they had never left. So, despite the continuing October-like weather, at least one parent is still around; maybe the father will return when the weather improves (they say Friday afternoon). It's comforting to see that the nestlings are on the verge of fledging, a week earlier than I thought. My fingers are still crossed, though. -Marsie Nufer Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 17:29:56 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Would the group take a look at the last two pictures on my web page (http://home.earthlink.net/~lviolett/otherbirds.html) and let me know if anyone can identify the nest. Several adapted "beeboxes" were loosely paired with 2-holed bluebird boxes in honeybee areas and were intended to lure bees away from the active nestboxes. The entrance is blocked by a curved (electrical) metal guard which was put in place to prevent birds from nesting in these bee "lures." House wrens, however, were able to squeeze into one of these boxes and nested. All the other "bee" boxes remained inactive. During the season cleanouts, another nest was found on top of that one house wren nest. For the photo, a ruler was placed near the blocked hole to provide perspective. The mystery nest is similar to a bluebird nest but the nestcup is much shallower than normal. I wouldn't think it would be a bluebird nest because less than 100 feet away, a bluebird family successfully raised two back-to-back clutches in a 2-hole mansion. Then there is the question of whether western bluebirds could actually squeeze past the curved metal guard to get inside the box to build the nest. Any ideas? PS: This trail in Yorba Linda is used almost exclusively by western bluebirds, plus a few house wrens, and one nesting of Bewicks wrens in 1998. Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 11:25:36 -0700 Linda, It looks like an unfinished/unused Violet-Green Swallow nest. They can squeeze into a 7/8"x2" slot (the dimensions of my HOSP resistant box holes). It is uncertain how tall your hole is (i.e., ?"x1"). The only other thing that questions the VGSW guess is that there are hardly any feathers and none in the nest cup. They are as addicted to feathers as Tree Swallows. I look forward to other people's ideas. -Marsie Nufer Linda Violett lviolett"at"earthlink.net 08/27 5:29 PM ... Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 19:32:53 -0700 (PDT) Here in Alliance Ohio, had several tree swallows found dead inside nestboxs(no nests)around last part of April. Wondered if they might have been too weak and exhausted from flying. Anyone else had a high number of tree swallows(or eastern bluebirds) found dead in nestboxes without nesting material? Any ideas the cause? Darrell Stark County Coordinator Ohio Bluebird Society Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2001 20:03:00 -0700 (PDT) Ok, here's a real challenge. My brother, earlier this year told me to check out a nest box of his with PINK EGGS of a tree swallow. And yes, I saw the tree swallow come out of the box, so it was one. I know that eastern bluebirds can have white eggs instead of blue ones, but has anyone else found pink tree swallow eggs? Darrell Stark County Coordinator Ohio Bluebird Society Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2001 20:59:04 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Ok, here's a real challenge. My brother, earlier this year told me ... From: "Bruce Burdett"
blueburd"at"srnet.com Darrell, For my part, I've never seen a Tree Swallow egg that was any color but white.
I've never even seen a white Bluebird egg or a white Bluebird. From: "Gilliam, Jay"
jay.gilliam"at"pioneer.com Darrell--- My experience with Tree Swallows and their eggs is that the eggs are very
white when first laid then turn to a kind of pinkish, translucent color (white
but with a pink tinge) after a few days. But I've never seen a true pink
(opaque) egg. From: Darrell [mailto:bluebird_monitor"at"go.com]
... From: "Molly Jo Miller"
johnson-miller"at"email.msn.com Hi Darrell, Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2001 20:03:00 -0700 (PDT) ... From: "Gilliam, Jay"
jay.gilliam"at"pioneer.com All--- What I meant to say in my previous message is just the opposite of what I
said (but the same as what Molly Jo said). That is the eggs start out
pink/translucent then turn pure white. Sorry about that! From: Gilliam, Jay ... From: "Gilliam, Jay" jay.gilliam"at"pioneer.com Hi All--- I found an interesting website called Tree Swallow Nesting Projects, Inc. at the following web address... http://treeswallows.org . It is "Dedicated to the re-establishment of the Tree Swallow as a breeding species in Ventura County and all of Southern California". It is a nice project and website with details on the project history and the data that has been generated. They started out with just ten pairs of Tree Swallows in the area and are now at "several thousand birds hatched and fledged". There is also a page with links and one of the links is related to Cornell, it is http://golondrinas.cornell.edu/ . In the protocols and methods link on this page, there is a design for a simple nestbox trap for capturing adult Tree Swallows for banding purposes that I thought it may be useful to those of us who band their nestling bluebirds and Tree Swallows but have difficulties banding adults. Check it out if you have time!! Jay Gilliam
Tree swallows on the bluebird trail (part 5) |
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