This nest has a total of 7 eggs, which is higher than average for tree swallows. Currently these eggs are being incubated by the female, and are due to hatch on June 6 which is one of the earliest hatch dates of all of the nest boxes!

Today we were greeted by a head poking out of the box. Today was the hatch date for this box, although is was still not hatched when we checked. But don't worry, it's completely normal for egs to hatch a couple days after their hatch date.

The chicks are much bigger already and are starting to get their feathers in. They are really hard to count when they are in a big pile, how many do you see?

Answer: 7 chicks

Today we caught and took data from the male at this box, and it turns out that he is a vey special bird! Every bird we catch gets a numbered band placed in its leg so that it can be identified. Because of this, we know that this male was first banded as an adult in 2021 in box 201 right next door to this one. He was caught again in 2022 in box 201, but surprisingly the same male was also caught in this box last year! So last year this male had two nests. 

Today the chicks are 8 days old. They have grown a lot in just eight days! You can see that their feathers are just starting to come in, but their eyes are still closed. Their large yellow beak is called a "gape" and makes it easier to snatch up the food that the parents bring in. At eleven days old these chicks will be banded, but they will not fledge until 18 days old at the very least.

Today the chicks are 11 days old which means it is banding day!

Their eyes are open and their flight feathers are starting to come in.

Contrary to what you might think, the leg of a tree swallow gets thinner as they grow old enough to leave the nest, so these chicks had thicker legs than their parents. 

Today box 27 is officially considered successful with the fledge of the chicks! All the chicks have left the box leaving just a very poopy nest behind.