Activity Increasing
March 28. 2009
Well, the Tree Swallows have returned! I am always thrilled to see them return. They are perching on the electrical lines just behind the house and constantly checking out the houses & gourds. Their liquid song is like auditory joy! They are so much fun to have around.
House Sparrows are already trying to build nests. It is a constant battle trying to keep them out of the nest boxes & gourds. I hope they do not kill any of the Tree Swallows. We have had weather in the 60s but the next day or so it is to turn colder with possible snow showers. This can be detrimental to the Tree Swallows and other insect eating birds.
The Bald Eagles are still incubating. They take turns on the nest.
If anyone is interested in the Peregrine Falcon cam in Indianapolis— check the link out: http://blogs.indystar.com/falconblog/. Be sure and click on the link which allows you to view both cameras. The image reloads every 30 sec. They are incubating currently. You can read all about it.
March 30th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Hi Joni,
I expect the tree swallows will soon return to our nest boxes, here in New York’s Catskill mountains. I’ve seen chickadees checking one of them out, but they don’t seem to have moved in.
Would you recommend cleaning out the nests from last year? Do the same swallows return to the same box? If birds discover a nest in there already, will they avoid the box? If a cleaning is in order, how thorough should it be?
Brett
April 4th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Brett–
Sorry for the delay in responding–been very busy. I would recommend cleaning out the nests. It is recommended to clean the nest boxes at the end of the nesting season with water mixed with a small amount of bleach—and rinse thoroughly. Allow them to dry before erecting them. This procedure is to kill any parasites which may have been present during nesting. If you left them up all winter without cleaning them, it may be that the cold temps have killed them. (I am not sure if this is accurate or not). But I would brush them out and perhaps blast them well with water from your hose at the minimum.
The same swallows may return to the same box or it is possible the young raised there may. Off the top of my head I am not sure but will look at my collection of research papers to see. Seems like I remember reading that they can return to the same area.
Wishing you the best this nesting season! Let me know who nests in your boxes.
Joni