Bluebirds and Tree Swallows: We've Got Eggs!

Text and photos © 2013, 2015 Adele Wilson, author of Bonding with the Barn Swallows

Mama Barn Swallow on nest, night of May 12, 2012

It’s always exciting to find eggs in a bird nest, especially a nest that one is monitoring.

My first experience of finding eggs in such a nest was on May 13^th, 2012. There was a year-old Barn Swallow nest on my porch, and a new pair of Barn Swallows had claimed it.  Ever since May 3^rd, the female had been spending every night on the nest. Yet, each time I had checked the nest, I had found no eggs.

But May 13^th, 2012, was to be a very special day.  (Please be patient; I'll get to the Bluebirds and Tree Swallows in a minute!)

Mid May, with its blooming flowers and warmer temperatures, is one of the most beautiful times of the year in Central Appalachia, and Sunday, May 13th, was certainly no exception. I had slept restfully the night before, charmed by the fact that the male [barn] swallow had stayed all night on my door ledge on May 11th, even while I was opening the storm door and stepping directly below him. It was time to check again for eggs in the nest. Mirror in hand, I carried the stepping stool onto the porch, climbed up to view the nest, held up the mirror, and beheld a most pleasant surprise. There were two eggs in the nest!

How synchronistic that it was Mother’s Day and I had found the first evidence that the female swallow was to be a mother! To me this signified a new beginning, a promise of new life, and something I had earnestly been hoping for. I decided from that point onward, to call her Mama Swallow and the male, Papa Swallow.

(from Bonding with the Barn Swallows, p. 66)

If you’ve read my previous posts, you know that we put up two nest boxes this spring (2015) – not for Barn Swallows, but for Bluebirds. We mounted the first box on April 24^th and were delighted that only one week later – on May 1^st – a pair of birds arrived and claimed the box!

However, the birds who arrived on May 1^st were Tree Swallows, not Bluebirds.  Nevertheless, we were utterly thrilled to have birds investigating the box only seven days after we had mounted it!

Tree Swallows are beautiful birds, and they diet exclusively on flying insects.  We were glad to have attracted these natural pest-controllers into our back yard.

As shown in the photo on the left, the female Tree Swallow began flying into the box's entrance hole with straw that very day.  Her job was to build the nest while the male's job was to guard it.

One never knows what to expect when it comes to nesting birds. To our surprise, just nine days later – on May 10^th – a pair of BLUEBIRDS arrived and drove the Tree Swallows from the box. Although the female Tree Swallow had built a nice nest inside the box, she had not laid any eggs.

The photo on the right shows the pair of Bluebirds on top of the box.  The male is brightly colored, while the female's colors are more subtle.

You can see that the female has a strand of straw in her bill in preparation for taking it into the box.  As in the Tree Swallow species, the female Bluebird's job is to build the nest while the male stands guard.  However, this female already had a base on which to start building her nest.  She just added more straw to the Tree Swallows' nest and built the sides up higher.

In an effort to do justice to the Tree Swallows, we mounted a second nest box (Box #2) on May 19^th, and, only four days later, a new pair of Tree Swallows arrived and claimed it! 

Just as with the original pair of Tree Swallows in Box #1, this new female Tree Swallow proceeded to build a nest inside the box while the male guarded it.

The photo to the left shows the new female Tree Swallow peeking out of Box #2.

This time, the male chose to guard the box from the nearby fence, as shown in the photo below.  When sunlight hits the back of a male Tree Swallow, it brings out his lovely, iridescent blue feathers.

In the meantime, the female Bluebird had started laying eggs in the first nest box (Box #1).  On May 20^th, I discovered two eggs inside, and now there are five!

Soon the new female Tree Swallow, not to be outdone, began laying her own eggs in Box #2.  On May 29^th, there were two eggs inside her nest, and, on last count, there were four.

I do not yet know how many more eggs the Tree Swallow will lay.  The average number in a clutch of this species is said to be four to seven, but they can lay as many as eight.

Stay tuned to find out how many eggs the Tree Swallow lays and when the Bluebird eggs will hatch.  You can follow this blog by entering your email address at the top right.

If you have enjoyed these photos, you will want to check out the 117 photos in my book, Bonding with the Barn Swallows.  Many of them show closeups of the baby Barn Swallows that were hatched on my porch during 2011 and 2012.  There are also photos of the parent swallows guarding the nest and feeding their young.  As an extra bonus, the book includes photos of five different juvenile Barn Swallows, just ten days after fledging.  You will be amazed at their varied markings.  The book describes how one special male Barn Swallow communicated to me by his body language on the utility wire and how, only two days later, I discovered what he was trying to tell me.  The book is available at Amazon at:   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494481464/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1494481464&linkCode=as2&tag=barnswalfrie-20&linkId=5WME3VAHNSX3EXHH

Two Nest Boxes, Two Bird Families: Bluebirds and Tree Swallows!

Text and photos © 2015 Adele Wilson, author of Bonding with the Barn Swallows

Yes!  Tree Swallows have claimed the second nest box!  After the original Tree Swallow nest in Box #1 was hijacked by Bluebirds on May 10th, we finally mounted a second box (Box #2) on May 19th. 

A pair of Tree Swallows claimed Box #2 on May 23rd and have now started building a nest inside of it.  The photo to the right shows the female Tree Swallow peeking out of Box #2 and holding straw in her bill, straw that she would be adding to the nest inside the box  The male is to the left, flying away from the box.

Sadly, however, this pair of Tree Swallows does not appear to be the same pair of Tree Swallows who were chased out of Box #1 by the Bluebirds on May 10th.

I felt so sorry for the female Tree Swallow who had been building a nest in Box #1 for 9 full days when she and her mate were chased away by the Bluebirds.  The female Tree Swallow and her mate kept hanging around my yard for several days thereafter, mating on the fence during the mornings.  I knew that the female was ready to lay eggs and hoped and prayed that she would find a place to lay them.

Back to Box #1:  The Bluebirds seem to be doing fine, and the female has laid five eggs!  The female is often inside the box incubating the eggs, but she sometimes takes breaks and leaves the box, especially during warm afternoons.

While the female is inside the box, the male brings her food and feeds her through the box's hole, just as if he is feeding a baby. This is an excellent way for him to practice what he will have to do once the eggs hatch!

A couple of mornings ago, I observed the female Bluebird peeking out of the hole of the nest box.  Soon the male came to the box and fed her through the hole.  To my surprise, when the male flew from the box, the female left the box and flew after him!  I wonder if she was chastising him for not feeding her often enough.

The size of the hole on a Bluebird nest box easily accommodates Tree Swallows as well as Bluebirds.  In geographical regions where both species breed, the two species commonly compete for nest sites. 

It is often recommended to mount nest boxes in pairs, one for Bluebirds and one for Tree Swallows.  The reason for this is that Bluebirds and Tree Swallows can coexist in the same breeding territory as long as they both have boxes in which to nest.  Also, the Tree Swallows can help defend both boxes from predators by swooping at any bird, animal, or even a human, that comes close to the boxes.

A pair of Bluebirds requires a radius of 300 feet for its territory and will chase away any other Bluebirds within that radius.  However, Bluebirds that are already established in a nest will not chase nearby nesting Tree Swallows away.

Tree Swallows defend a territory from other Tree Swallows, but only within a 100-foot radius.  They will tolerate Bluebirds in their territory because the diets of Tree Swallows and Bluebirds differ immensely.

While Bluebirds feed on insects and larvae on the ground, Tree Swallows feed on flying insects.  Thus, there is no competition for food within the same territory.

The photo on the right shows the male Bluebird, who has just captured some food.

The recommendation is to mount the two boxes, one for Bluebirds and the other for Tree Swallows, no more than five to ten feet apart.   We tried to do that, but were unsuccessful.

We were restrained by the parameters specified by Bluebird organizations and also by restrictions from our landlord.  Bluebird specifications dictate that, in order to help guard against predators (and we have plenty of roaming cats around here), a Bluebird box must be mounted on a pole and in an open area, preferably at least 20 feet from a building, fence, or tree.  Our landlord restricted us from being able to mount the boxes in the middle of the lawn.  The reason for the restriction was that this type of location would add complications to the chore of lawn mowing.

We received permission from our landlord to mount a box near the septic tank opening, which is about 25 feet from our building.  So that is where we mounted Box #1 on April 24th.

It took only a week for birds to claim Box #1, but the birds ended up being Tree Swallows rather than Bluebirds.  After Bluebirds hijacked the box from the Tree Swallows only nine days later, we decided that we needed to mount a second nest box, one for the Tree Swallows.  The photo to the left shows the two Bluebirds on Box #1 the day they hijacked the box.  The female Bluebird is peering through the hole to check the inside of the box.  The male on the roof looks like he is jumping for joy at having procured a suitable nest box!

We tried to mount Box #2 about 5 feet from Box #1 where it would have not interfered with lawn mowing.  However, a layer of rock about 6 inches below the surface of the ground prevented the driving of the pole far enough into the soil.

The only option at that point was to mount Box #2 along the horse pasture fence where our landlord had also given us permission.  To mount a nest box along a fence is not an optimal choice because predators can sometimes use a fence to gain access to a nest.  However, this is the only choice our landlord gave us based on avoidance of lawn-mowing complications.

We ended up locating Box #2 between two metal fence poles that are about 4.3 feet high and 8 feet apart.  The box is located 28 feet from a 11-foot high wooden fence post that serves as a lookout tower for several different species of birds.  We are hoping that the fence post is far enough away from Box #2 that a large bird cannot use the post to prey upon the birds using the box.

The photo below, from the morning of May 28th, shows Box #2 on the left, separated from the high fence post by three metal fence poles.

The photo below, from May 20th, the day after we mounted Box #2, shows Box #1 in the foreground on the right, with Box #2 in the background.  The two boxes are about 75 feet apart although in the photo they look closer.  This photo was taken three days before the Tree Swallows arrived and claimed Box #2.  I cannot identify the bird perching on top of Box #2 in the photo, but the Bluebirds from Box #1 are perching on the fence.  The male Bluebird is on the wire at the center of the photo, and the female is on top of the fence pole on the right.

While Box #1 is about 4.3 feet high, we mounted Box #2 a little higher.  The distance from the ground to the lower edge of Box #2 is about 5.3 feet.

The higher a nest box is from the ground, the lesser the chance that House Sparrows will use the box.  This is a matter of great concern because we do have House Sparrows in close proximity, and House Sparrows have been known to enter a nest box and destroy the young of the host species.

The day after we mounted Box #2, I noticed a House Sparrow hovering near the entrance hole of that box and perching on the fence next to the box.  To my delight, the male Bluebird from Box #1 immediately flew to Box #2 and chased the House Sparrow away!

Also to my delight, when the Tree Swallows arrived and began investigating Box #2 on May 23rd, the Bluebirds did not chase them away!  What I had read about Bluebirds and Tree Swallows peacefully nesting near one another had proven true.  To this day, the Tree Swallows are still guarding Box #2, and the Bluebirds have not bothered the Tree Swallows.

The photo below shows Box #2 on the morning of May 24th, just one day after the new pair of Tree Swallows claimed the box.  The male Tree Swallow is perching on the fence pole, while the female is inside the box, peeking out.

Optimally, we should have already had Box #1 mounted by early March when our local Bluebirds start choosing their mates and searching for nest sites.  But we did not get it mounted until April 24th. For one thing, my neighbor was mounting these boxes for me as favor.  For another, it took a great deal of time for us to decide upon a nest box design, plan its location, and gather the parts needed for mounting.  Besides, in early March it was likely that the ground would have been too frozen for driving a pole into the ground.

In early March, no Tree Swallows would have been on the scene.  That is because, while Bluebirds remain in this area all winter long, Tree Swallows are migratory and do not arrive here until early April.  Although Bluebirds tend to be feisty and defensive of their chosen nesting sites, they would not have had any competition from Tree Swallows during March.

If you don't want to miss the news about the hatching of the Bluebird eggs or whether the female Tree Swallow lays eggs in Box #2, you can follow this blog by entering your email address at the top right of this page.

If you have enjoyed these photos, you might want to check out the 117 photos in my book, Bonding with the Barn Swallows.  Many of them show closeups of the baby Barn Swallows that were hatched on my porch during 2011 and 2012.  There are also photos of the parent swallows guarding the nest and feeding their young.  As an extra bonus, the book includes photos of five different juvenile Barn Swallows, just ten days after fledging.  You will be amazed at their varied markings.  The book describes how one special male Barn Swallow communicated to me by his body language on the utility wire and how, only two days later, I discovered what he was trying to tell me.  The book is available at Amazon at:   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494481464/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1494481464&linkCode=as2&tag=barnswalfrie-20&linkId=5WME3VAHNSX3EXHH

Yes, it was a hijack! Bad news, good news ...

Text and photos © 2015 Adele Wilson, author of Bonding with the Barn Swallows

Bluebird, May 10, 2015

Yes, it was a hijack! The Eastern Bluebird, so charming and friendly to humans, can be quite nasty toward other birds. Eastern Bluebirds can fight ferociously to defend a nest – or even to seize a nest from another bird, as they did in my yard on May 10th. (See my previous post, “The Hijacking of the Nest Box – Who will win?”, at http://barnswallowfriends.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-seizing-of-nest-box-who-will-win.html.)

During this past March (2015), I did not observe as many Bluebirds around here as I had during March 2014.  Why?  There could be several reasons.

Bluebird, Nov. 9, 2014

For one, we had unseasonably wintry weather here during November 2014.  It was extraordinarily cold, and we had two snowfalls that month – quite unusual for this area.

During the winter of 2013 to 2014, each month I would observe at least one Bluebird around my yard.  But this past winter was different.  The Bluebird shown on the left that I saw on November 9, 2014, would be the last Bluebird I would see until March 9, 2015.  On March 9th I sighted a pair of Bluebirds, one at a time, on the wire across the road from where I live.  I did not see any Bluebirds near my yard until March 23rd.

Although our local Bluebirds stay around during the winter, they are unaccustomed to extremely cold weather during the month of November.  As winter approaches, Bluebirds look for warm places to roost during frigid nights.  They often roost either inside the nest boxes they used during the past summer or inside building structures where there are entrance ways into attics or crevices that lead to the undersides of roof beams.  These birds can also roost in pre-existing cavities within large tree trunks, places where they have nested during warmer weather.

However, when it came to finding warm winter roosting spots, I don’t think our Bluebirds had much warning last fall with our sudden frigid temperatures and snow storms.  It is said that one of the worst enemies of the Bluebird is “Jack” – Jack Frost, that is.  With “Jack” descending on us so quickly during late 2014, I think it caught the Bluebirds off guard, and some of them may have perished that month.

Our past winter of 2014 to 2015 was extremely cold, but we did not have the record-breaking amount of snowfall that the Northeastern US received.  Nevertheless, Jack Frost may have played a role in diminishing our Bluebirds’ winter survival rate.

An unusual event began taking place around here in mid January 2015 – one that may well have had a negative impact on our local Bluebirds’ survival.

In mid-January, a contractor hired by our local power company began chopping down trees and branches that were threatening to fall on power lines during high winds and heavy snowfall.  The process was noisy and lasted for several weeks.

If any of those trees contained old woodpecker holes in which Bluebirds were roosting at night, the tree-cutting process could have caused some of our Bluebirds to lose their warm, nocturnal sleeping stations, resulting in the demise of those birds.

I did notice that, when the contractor first began cutting trees, a Pileated Woodpecker began appearing at my suet feeders and continued to do so for many weeks thereafter.  I have wondered if the tree-cutting resulted in the removal of dead tree trunks inside which the Pileated Woodpecker had been finding beetle larvae.  Pileated Woodpeckers are able to feed on that type of larvae during the cold months.  The answer is unclear, but it seemed that SOMETHING had brought that Woodpecker out in the open at exactly that time. 

Female Pileated Woodpecker, morning of Jan. 12, 2015

Since we had so few Bluebirds around this past March, I took that as an imperative to put up a Bluebird nest box.  I began talking to my very mechanical next-door neighbor about it.  Perhaps, if we put up a nest box, a pair of Bluebirds would find it and raise some babies in it, resulting in an increased Bluebird population in our neighborhood during the spring of 2016.

By mid-April I had purchased a Bluebird nest box.  I had already purchased one last October at a craft show, but that one was too heavy to be mounted on a thin pole.  The reason for mounting the box on a pole would be to help guard against predators.

My neighbor was studying the specs for mounting the nest box. We began planning the location of the box in accordance with permission from our landlord and the guidelines for mounting Bluebird boxes.

Tree Swallow on wire

On April 17th, my neighbor and I were standing on our porch, discussing plans for the nest box. I pointed to a Tree Swallow that was perching on the nearby wire and told my neighbor, “That’s what we’ll probably get: Tree Swallows.” I said this because it was well past the beginning of the first brooding season for Bluebirds. Bluebirds can build two or three nests per season, but the first nesting season generally begins in March. By April 17th, our local Bluebirds were probably well underway with their first nests of the season.

I then told my neighbor not to be disappointed because “we might not get a Bluebird.” Just as I said the word “Bluebird”, an uncanny event occurred. A Bluebird landed on the wire right above our driveway! See “Did the Bluebird hear me call its name?” at https://www.facebook.com/notes/adele-barger-wilson/did-the-bluebird-hear-me-call-its-name/10153174426857040. The photo below shows the Bluebird that landed on the wire that moment.

The Bluebird that landed on the wire when I said "Bluebird"

We finally got the nest box mounted on April 24^th.  According to my research, we were far too late to have Bluebirds claim the box for their first nest of the season.  

Tree Swallows claim nest box, May 1, 2015

Just as I had suspected on April 17th, when I had pointed to the Tree Swallow on the wire, we did not get Bluebirds claiming the box. On May 1st a pair of Tree Swallows showed up and began building a nest inside the box that very day.

We were so fortunate to get birds claiming the nest box only one week after we had mounted it!  Although they were not Bluebirds, I was overjoyed!  Tree Swallows eat flying insects, acting as a natural form of pest control.  And we would be helping to increase our local population of this species, a species that I had not begun to observe in this neighborhood until April 2013.

But on May 10^th, the nest was hijacked!  The poor Tree Swallows!  The female was still in the process of building a nest inside the box that morning, when, not just one, but TWO male Bluebirds appeared and fought over the box.  One Bluebird won, and then started fighting the male Tree Swallow for possession of the box.

Sadly for the Tree Swallows, the Bluebird and his mate won.  They began adding to the nest, building its edges up higher.

The magical part of the story is that yes, the Bluebird DID hear me call its name on April 17^th while I was talking to my neighbor on the porch!  Yes, we did get Bluebirds!

Feeling sorry for the Tree Swallows who lost their nest, I convinced my neighbor to put up a second nest box, which he mounted on May 19th. The new nest box was mounted about 75 feet from the first one. It was the best location given the parameters for the mounting of Bluebird boxes and restrictions by my landlord regarding the location of the box.

Immediately, the two Bluebirds who had claimed the first nest box began perching on the second box and investigating it.  Oh no, I thought, will the Bluebirds prevent other birds from using the second box?  The Bluebirds had seized their current box from the Tree Swallows; would they also keep the second box under guard?

Below is a photo, taken May 20th, of the second nest box in the background, with the first nest box in the foreground.  The Bluebirds who were nesting in the first nest box are perching on the fence near the second (more distant) box!  The male Blue bird is on the top fence wire, and the female is on the second fence pole to the right of the second box.  I do not know what type of bird is perching on top of the second box!

So, did any birds end up claiming the second nest box?  And how about the Bluebirds?  Did they continue to use the first box, or did they shift to the second box?  And did any eggs get laid in the first box?  You can follow this blog at the upper right to find out!

I first began having intimate encounters with wild birds when Barn Swallows nested on my porch during 2011 and 2012.  During those encounters, I became convinced that humans and birds can develop meaningful rapports, communicate with each other, and enjoy mutually beneficial relationships.  You can read about how one special Barn Swallow communicated to me in my book Bonding with the Barn Swallows, available at Amazon at:   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494481464/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1494481464&linkCode=as2&tag=barnswalfrie-20&linkId=5WME3VAHNSX3EXHH

The Hijacking of the Nest Box – Who will win?

Text and photos © 2015 Adele Wilson, author of Bonding with the Barn Swallows

The morning of May 10^th began in typical fashion.  The female Tree Swallow was perched on the top of the nest box holding straw in her bill – straw to carry into the box to finish building her nest.

While the female Tree Swallow flew into the nest hole with straw, the male Tree Swallow would guard her from either the top of the box or from the nearby fence post.

I wondered when the female would finish building the nest. She and her mate had claimed the nest box on May 1st, just one week after we had put it up, and she had started building the nest that very day.

The last time I had looked inside the box – on the evening of May 8th – there had been a beautifully woven, circular nest inside. Two dark feathers had been placed at the right front of the nest.

All seemed calm and peaceful that sunny morning of May 10^th.  But then, a surprising event occurred.  A pair of Eastern Bluebirds showed up – male and female – and landed on the box!  The Tree Swallows were nowhere in sight.  Perhaps they were flying over the nearby hayfield, catching a late breakfast of flying insects.

Both the male and female Bluebirds immediately began investigating the box.  While one bird perched on the top of the box, the other would peek through its entrance hole.  The photo to the right shows the male on top of the box, with the female on the front.  The hole does not show in the photo, but the female is pointing her bill toward it.  From the photo you can see the brightness of the colors of the male in comparison to the duller colors of the female.

Eventually, the female Bluebird flew from the box, while the male stayed.  All at once, another male Bluebird appeared, and a fight ensued between the two males – right on top of the nest box!

I am not sure which Bluebird won the fight, but soon afterward, the male Tree Swallow returned to the top of the box and started another fight.  This time, two different species were fighting for ownership of the nest box – the Tree Swallow and the newly arriving Bluebird!

As I watched the two males lunge at each other, one bird dropped to the ground, and the other bird followed.  For a few seconds, it looked like the Tree Swallow was on top of the Bluebird, pecking away at him.

The Bluebird then escaped and flew to a nearby tree.  I was hoping that he was not injured and that he had survived the attack.

Later that day, I began second-guessing myself about having seen two male Bluebirds fighting over the box earlier that morning.  Perhaps one of the birds in the skirmish had actually been the male Tree Swallow.  In the right type of sunlight, it might be easy to mistake a male Tree Swallow for a male Bluebird because of the brilliant blue on their backs.

After all, our local Bluebirds are said to begin their first nests of the season around mid March at the earliest. It was now only May 10th and I had not yet seen any baby Bluebirds around here. Would our local male Bluebirds actually be searching for nest sites in early May?

In this region of the US, it is recommended to have Bluebird nest boxes up by mid March in order for the Bluebirds to use them for their first brood of the season. However, we were late mounting our nest box and did not get it up until April 24th. No chance of Bluebirds very soon, I thought! We were consoled with the thought that Bluebirds might use the box for their second brood, perhaps during late June after the Tree Swallows were finished with it.

 

I doubted whether our local Bluebirds, if they had begun their early broods in March or April, would be finished with the stages of egg-laying, egg-incubation, feeding and fledging the nestlings, and continuing to feed the fledglings outside the nest for a couple of weeks thereafter.  The period from the laying of the first egg to the fledging of the young lasts at least 33, but sometimes up to 45, days. Another 12 days would have to be added to that because that is the length of time that baby Bluebirds still need to be fed once they leave the nest.  And it is the male parent Bluebird who often endures the sole burden of feeding the fledglings because the female is sometimes off to build another nest during that time.  Therefore, the length of time that a male is occupied with breeding activities can be from 45 to 57 days, at least a month and a half.  And that does not include the time period of mating that precedes egg-laying.

Well, I suppose it would be possible for the male Bluebirds to have completed their first brood of the season by May 10th.  Or perhaps the males had experienced unsuccessful nesting attempts or found their mates later in the season then usual.  Another possibility is that cold weather had delayed early nesting attempts.

To attempt to solve the mystery, I reviewed my photos from May 10^th and found proof that I had indeed seen two male Bluebirds!  Here is a photo I took of a tree in my yard that morning.  It shows two male Eastern Bluebirds on the branches, identified by their bright blue plumage.  (The females display a much duller blue and have brownish heads.)  In the photo, the bird barely visible at the lower right next to the feeder is actually a Blue Jay.

By the time the skirmishes were finished, it was late morning.  A pair of male and female Bluebirds kept returning to the top of the box.  I don’t know whether the male was the one who had been in the fight with the Tree Swallow.  But I do know that, by the time the pair of Bluebirds seemed to have claimed the nest box, I didn’t see either of the pair of Tree Swallows on or around it.

Meanwhile, the male and female Bluebirds continued to investigate the box.  Just as the Tree Swallows had done nine days previously, the Bluebirds, one by one, would test the hole for size and enter the box to examine its contents.  Neither stayed in the box for long.  They were too busy checking out the remainder of the box. The photo on the right shows the female peering inside the hole.

In the Eastern Bluebird species (and in other bird species as well), the female is the one who must approve of the nest site.  The male will first find the nest site and “present” it to her, but she is the one who must give the go-ahead to use the site for nesting.

The female Bluebird therefore seemed to be more thorough in her investigation of the box.  After all, she was the one who would have to approve of it.  Consequently, she diligently inspected the outside of the box as well as the inside.  The photo to the left shows the female examining the back of the box.

But wait! What about the Tree Swallows? They were the ones who had originally found the nest box on May 1st, only a week after we had mounted it. The female had started a nest that very day. She had begun gathering straw and grass in her bill and flying into the nest hole with it.

So which species would be using the nest – the Bluebirds or the Tree Swallows?  I began reading stories of joint nests between the two species, nests in which both Bluebirds and Tree Swallows would lay their eggs and help rear the young.

Time would tell whether Tree Swallows, Bluebirds, or both would be using the nest.  You can find out what eventually occurred by following this blog at the top right of this page. 

I first began having intimate encounters with wild birds when Barn Swallows nested on my porch during 2011 and 2012.  During those encounters, I became convinced that humans and birds can develop meaningful rapports, communicate with each other, and enjoy mutually beneficial relationships.  You can read about how one special Barn Swallow communicated to me in my book Bonding with the Barn Swallows, available at Amazon at:   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494481464/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1494481464&linkCode=as2&tag=barnswalfrie-20&linkId=5WME3VAHNSX3EXHH

A Bluebird Nest Box: The Tenants Arrive!

Text and photos © 2015 Adele Wilson

This spring my next-door neighbor kindly put up a Bluebird nest box for me.  After coordinating with our landlord about the location of the box and purchasing the box and the parts to mount it, we finally got it up on April 24th. 

To our pleasant surprise, only one week later, on May 1st, a pair of birds landed on the box and began investigating it!  The two birds took turns poking their heads in and out of the hole to make sure it was the right size.  The photo on the right shows the male investigating the size of the hole.

One by one, the birds entered the nest box and peeked outside through the hole.  One bird would perch on the roof of the box while the other investigated the inside of it.

The photo below shows the male on top of the box with the female inside the box peeking out:

When the birds were satisfied that the box would be suitable for their nest, the female began flying to the nest with straw and carrying it into the box.  The male would guard the box from either its roof or a nearby fence post.

In the photo below, you can see the female on the left side with her feet clutching some straw, and the male guarding from the roof.

But the birds were not Bluebirds.  Instead, they were Tree Swallows!

It was no surprise that Tree Swallows, rather than Bluebirds, decided to use the box.  Although the box was designed for Bluebirds, we did not get it mounted until well after the beginning of the Bluebirds' nesting season, which begins in early to mid March.

However, I was just as delighted with the Tree Swallows as I would have been with Bluebirds.  Tree Swallows are beautiful, too, and an adult Tree Swallow eats about 2,000 flying insects per day.  And the best part was that we only had to have the box up for one week before the Tree Swallows discovered it!

Both male and female Tree Swallows have white breasts and bellies, with dark blue on their backs, wings, tails, and upper heads.  The male is especially beautiful, especially when the sunlight hits his feathers exactly right, showing his lovely iridescent blue!

In the Tree Swallow species, it is the female who builds the nest.  It is the male who has the duty of guarding her and the nest box while she is building it.

The female worked diligently, continuing to bring straw to the box each day.  The male would stand guard duty, either from the top of the box or from the nearby fence post.

Sometimes the female would land on the roof of the box with straw in her beak to rest for a moment before taking it into the nest box.  Sadly, it often took her several attempts to successfully carry the straw into the box.



Below you can see both the male and female on the roof of the box, the male displaying his brilliant, bright blue plumage and the female holding a few strands of straw in her bill.

I began to wonder what the inside of the box looked like.  Was it a hodge-podge of straw and grass, or was it a neatly woven nest?

Around 6 p.m. on May 8th, my neighbor told me she had not seen the Tree Swallows guarding the box that afternoon.  My curiosity then got the best of me, and I could no longer resist looking inside the box.  About half an hour later, with the birds nowhere in sight, I ventured to the box, carefully opened the door, and looked inside.

What I saw was quite an amazement to behold!  Strands of straw were woven into a cup shape, even with a couple of dark feathers in the front.  You can see the strand of straw protruding on the left side of the nest, indicating that the nest was still a work in progress.

Just 30 minutes later, I sighted the female Tree Swallow on the wire above my driveway.  She continued to perch there, softly twittering the whole time, and even let me take quite a few pictures of her.

All seemed peaceful, with everything going as it should.  Little did I know that a surprise was to ensue just two days later.   And that surprise was not to involve eggs or babies.  Follow this blog to find out what the surprise was! 

I first began having intimate encounters with wild birds when Barn Swallows nested on my porch during 2011 and 2012.  During those encounters, I became convinced that humans and birds can develop meaningful rapports, communicate with each other, and enjoy mutually beneficial relationships.  You can read about how one special Barn Swallow communicated to me in my book Bonding with the Barn Swallows, available at Amazon at:   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494481464/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1494481464&linkCode=as2&tag=barnswalfrie-20&linkId=5WME3VAHNSX3EXHH

Winter Woodpeckers and What is a First-Year Bird?

Text and photos © 2015 Adele Wilson

Pileated Woodpecker

January 12th was quite a day for me, woodpecker-wise!  Early that morning, for the very first time, a Pileated Woodpecker came to visit one of the feeders on the tree by my driveway.  I had occasionally seen Pileated Woodpeckers around here before, but not in my back yard.  It was a cold and frosty morning, but I managed to get a few shots, like this one.  The physical positions that these woodpeckers are able to assume while eating from feeders are amazing!

Early in the morning of January 17th, I again saw the Pileated Woodpecker as I was leaving home to run some errands.  By the time I arrived back home, it was around noon and the sun was shining brightly.  As I was ascending my porch stairs, I looked over to the tree by the driveway where I had seen the Pileated Woodpecker that morning. There was a Black-Capped Chickadee eating from the feeder.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Soon the Chickadee left, and a Red-Bellied Woodpecker showed up!  You can see him in the picture on the left.  He was obviously a male because of the bright patch of red on the top of his head extending down the back of his neck.

Red-Bellied Woodpeckers do have slightly red bellies, although this woodpecker's red belly does not show in the photo above.  However, if you look very carefully at the photo below (from February 22nd), you may be able to see a light red belly.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker showing his red belly

Downy Woodpecker

After the Red-Bellied Woodpecker finished eating, he hitched up the tree and flew away.  Then yet another type of woodpecker appeared!  This time it was a Downy Woodpecker, as shown in the photo on the left.  The lack of a red patch on the back of its head shows this bird to be a female.

The Downy ate for a few minutes, at which point a Carolina Wren appeared and chased it from the feeder!  In the photo below, the flying bird on the left is the Downy Woodpecker, and you can see the Wren on the feeder on the right.

Carolina Wren having scared Downy Woodpecker from feeder!

Pileated Woodpecker

Since that day, the female Pileated Woodpecker has visited my feeders quite a number of times, often around 8 o’clock in the morning.  On the left is a photo I took of her on the morning of January 24th when we had snow on the ground.  If she looks like Woody Woodpecker, you're not imagining it.  Indeed, the appearance of the Woody Woodpecker cartoon character was derived from the Pileated Woodpecker!  (Thanks to Mary Huebner for this information.)

It turns out that this Pileated Woodpecker is a female.  If she were a male, she would have a red stripe on the lower part of her face instead of a black one.  Ornithologists sometimes call this stripe a “moustache”.

I kept wondering if this female woodpecker had a mate because she is the only Pileated Woodpecker I have seen in my back yard this winter.  I have seen no males, only her.  Last fall I spotted a pair of these woodpeckers on the neighbor’s tree across the road.  This has made me wonder if the Pileated Woodpecker I have been observing in my back yard this winter is the female of that pair.  If so, the question would arise, where is her mate?

Pileated Woodpecker

The photo on the right, taken February 5th on the tree by my driveway, shows how Pileated Woodpeckers move up and down trees.  The Pileated is North America's largest woodpecker, with its length measuring from 16 to 19.5 inches (40 to 49 cm).   There was a North American Woodpecker known to be larger, and that was the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker of the southeastern US.  Sadly, the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, which looked much like the Pileated, is now thought to be extinct.

The Pileated Woodpecker generally makes its home in forests and is extremely shy toward humans.  The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Eastern Region, states that seeing this species up close "usually requires careful stalking."  Reading this made me realize how fortunate I am to have this bird visit my feeders this winter!

To get these pictures, I had to hide behind the wall of my porch.  As long as this shy woodpecker did not know I was there, I was able to snap some photos.  However, as soon as I would move to a different location on the porch, the woodpecker would see me and take flight.

Pileated Woodpecker, female, black stripe on lower part of face

Above is a photo I shot on February 7th.   In this photo you can clearly see the black, horizontal stripe that extends from the beginning of the bill along the side of the face.  As mentioned above, this indicates the woodpecker's gender to be female.  On the male, this stripe is red.

I continued wondering if this female had a mate, and if so, where he was.  I eventually developed a hypothesis, based on a link to photos that my Facebook friend, Nathan Elderkin (thank you, Nathan!), shared with me.  The photos showed baby Pileated Woodpeckers in a nest being fed by their parents.  Surprisingly, the genders of the babies were already apparent!  The males had the red facial stripes, while the corresponding stripes on the females were black.  If you wish to see the photos, you can click here.

Baby Pileated Woodpeckers stay in their nest for a month after they are hatched.  Unlike many other baby birds that do not reveal their genders until after their first molt, baby Pileated Woodpeckers apparently show their genders by their initial plumage.

With this new information about how quickly juvenile Pileated Woodpeckers grow up to look like adults, my hypothesis is that the female Pileated Woodpecker visiting my feeders might be a juvenile.  (If anyone has a different opinion on this, I would welcome your comment below because I am still learning!)

“Juvenile” is one way to describe a bird that was hatched the previous summer.  Another term applied to birds of this age is “first-year”.   A first-year bird is a bird of less than twelve months of age.  Often during winter or spring, a first-year bird can look much like a full adult.  The main difference is that they have yet to experience a mating season or raise a family of their own.  Therefore, despite the fact that the female Pileated Woodpecker looks like a full adult, she could be a first-year bird who has not yet found a mate.

Some birds, like Barn Swallows for instance, retain part of their juvenile plumage until they are nearly a year old.  When North American Barn Swallows arrive in the US during the spring from their southerly wintering grounds, the first-year swallows can generally be identified by their breast bands, which tend to be continuous rather than discontinuous.  All North American Barn Swallow adults display a discontinuous, or "broken", breast band, meaning that the breast band is generally visible on the sides of the body only.  Sometimes, particularly on the males, there is also a dark patch in the center of the breast, which would be part of the breast band if it were continuous. 

When I first began studying Barn Swallows, I was confused by some of the photos on the Internet, which showed adult Barn Swallows with thick, dark, breast bands.  These Barn Swallows did not look like ours here in the US!  I eventually learned that these photos were of Eurasian Barn Swallows, which always display continuous breast bands, whether they are juveniles or adults.  There is much more about the “breast band phenomenon” in my book, Bonding with the Barn Swallows.

So the mystery continues.  Is the female Pileated Woodpecker who is visiting my feeders this winter a full adult?  And, if so, where is her mate, or did something happen to him?  Or, is this female still a juvenile, a first-year bird that was hatched last summer?  If so, I expect that she will find a mate this spring.

I first began having intimate encounters with wild birds when Barn Swallows nested on my porch during 2011 and 2012.  During those encounters, I became convinced that humans and birds can develop meaningful rapports, communicate with each other, and enjoy mutually beneficial relationships.  You can read about my experiences in my book Bonding with the Barn Swallows, available at Amazon at:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494481464/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1494481464&linkCode=as2&tag=barnswalfrie-20&linkId=6563CMOIKLNRCK2H

Prices on Amazon fluctuate greatly.  Last week the price of the book was over $35.00, but as of today, March 8, 2015, the price is only $24.20.  I cannot predict when the price will go up again; so if you are interested in purchasing the book, today would be the optimal time!  Just click on the image above to read a preview, and if you would like to purchase it, just click "Add to Cart" on the right side of your screen.