Embedded Files
5/20 - Is it a Chickadee?
When we first opened this box, it appeared to be a Chickadee Nest. Chickadees make their nests out of moss and fur, and it provides them with plenty of insolation. Chickadees will also sometimes nest in our Tree Swallow boxes, so that was not unusual. What was unusual was the lack of activity. Their wasn't a Chickadee in sight! Our best guess was that a Chickadee spent the winter huddled up in our nest box, only to "abandon ship" when spring rolled around.
5/25 - New owners?
When we opened the box today, we had to do a double take. Was that an egg....in an abandoned nest? It appeared that a Swallow took advantage of the pre-built nest, and laid an egg right on top. Swallows have been know to "take over" a Chickadee nest, and build their own on top of it. I guess this Swallow was pretty lucky, she didnt have to build a nest of her own at all!
5/27 - Making quick work out of it
Over the course of just a few days, this hardworking swallow pair has spruced up their nest with grass and feathers, as well as adding 3 more eggs to their clutch! Swallows can lay up to 7 eggs in their nest, and this pair is about halfway done.
6/1 - Finally done
Most Tree Swallow nests will lay between 4-7 eggs in a single clutch. Laying one egg a day, if these guys started laying eggs on 5/24, then they will have finished today. In the box, we find 7 eggs, which confirms what we thought. The parents will have started incubation. During incubation, it is CRUCIAL that we do not disturb the nest. If you startle the birds, they may abandon the nest.
6/5 - Now its a waiting game
Today, the nest still has 7 eggs, which means that the parents are done laying, and are now incubating. Tree Swallows will incubate their eggs for 13-16 days before they hatch, so we can predict that this nest will begin hatching around 6/14. Once the parents start incubation, its improtant not to disturb them, or spook them off. Eggs undergo chemical reactions, that form the embryo. But in order for these reactions to happen, the eggs must be kept at a specific temperature. If the parents are off the nest for too long, the eggs will cool, and the embryonic development will halt. Eggs need about 14 days of efficient embryonic development to hatch.
6/13 - Babies!!
Today we opened the nest, and found hatchlings! 7 of the eggs have hatched. That means that the parents will be working overtime feeding them. While checking the box, both parents dive bombed us. "Dive Bombing" is a defensive bluff the Tree Swallows use to scare off predators from their nest. It also means that both parents are still active at the nest, and it increases the chicks chance at survival.
*Before this point, not all updates have pictures, sorry*
6/24 - They are growing up
Today we banded all of the nestlings. When we band, we look at things like Fat, and Wing Length, and how developed the chick looks. Today, all the chicks looked perfectly happy and healthy. After they are banded on day 11, it is essential to not disturb the nests, because these chicks will begin to grow rapidly. They are developing flight feathers, and if we distub them, they can fledge early. If they fly off into the world before they are ready, they will not survive untill migration.
7/3 - Gone!
When we stopped by to do our fledge checks, something was different, the parents wernt swooping in and out of the nest, the chicks wernt peaking there heads out, and none of the usual baby bird chatter could be heard from inside the nest. The babies were gone. They had all fledged over a course of a few days. They will stay around and eat, get fat, and finish learning to fly before heading down south for the winter.
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