|
June 24 - FLEDGING BEGINS!
Today is
the first day of fledging. Two of the three chicks fledged
today. The parents were in and out all day, coaxing the young
tree swallows outside.
|
|
This one seems unsure about which part of it is supposed to leave the box first!
|
|
Here goes the second chick! Tree
swallows fly excellently upon leaving the nest, though their first
flights are usually short.
|
|
June 25 - The last chick stayed in the nest overnight. Here's our last view of this tree swallow family!
--------------------------------------
|
|
June 22 - Tree swallows usually fledge at 18 to 22 days of age, which will be from tomorrow to the 27th.
|
|
June 21 - One of the chicks perches boldly in the entrance while waiting for the parents to return with food.
|
|
June 20 - The chicks eagerly await
their next meal. Their baby fluff looks out of place, poking out
between all their new feathers!
|
|
June 19 - Now 14 days old, the tree
swallow chicks should be at their maximum body mass of 22-24
grams. Their weight will gradually decrease to about 20 grams
before they fledge.
|
|
June 15 - A chick spreads its wings, revealing its new flight feathers.
|
|
June 14 - This parent's head almost disappears in the chick's huge mouth!
|
|
June 13 - Though the chicks can stay
warm on their own for the most part, the female will brood them if the
temperature outside gets too low.
|
|
June 12 - The male will often perch in the entrance to the nest box while the female is away.
|
|
June 11 - Combined, the parents make about 10-20 feeding trips per hour!
|
|
June 10 - Both parents share the task
of fecal sac removal, flying the sacs away from the nest and often
dropping them over water.
|
|
June 9 - One of the parents returns,
most likely with food. The parent forms a bolus with the food it
catches, which it holds in its mouth or throat and passes directly to
the chick. This makes it hard for us to see any food items.
|
|
June 8 - Our first clear shot showing five chicks in the nest! All the eggs hatched!
|
|
June 7 - The first tiny beak opens up! Tree swallows start feeding their young almost immediately after they hatch.
|
|
June 6 - The last chick could have
hatched, but we can't be sure. We can't see the last egg shell
any more, which may be a good sign!
|
|
--------------------------------------
June 5 - A broken egg shell indicates the eggs have started hatching!
|
|
Here is the first chick as it breaks out of its shell!
|
|
The first chick is free of its egg, and it's hungry! The parents begin feeding their chicks almost as soon as they hatch.
|
|
The second chick is hatching!
|
|
The mother delivers the chicks' first meal!
|
|
Both parents work to remove empty
shells from the nest as each chick hatches, sometimes carrying the
shells high into the air before dropping them.
|
|
The female will brood the chicks almost constantly until they are about 3 days old.
|
|
Three eggs left!
|
|
The third egg is hatching!
|
|
Two eggs still unhatched... You
can see how the tree swallows use the feathers in their nest to cover
the chicks while the female is away. |
|
At the end of the day, it looks like only one egg remains.
-------------------------------------- |
|
June 1 - The female rearranges some
feathers around her during the night shift. She has about 4 more
days of brooding before her chicks hatch.
|
|
May 31 - The male tree swallow does
not feed the female while she incubates the eggs, but he will hang
around the nest and guard it when she leaves to feed herself.
|
|
May 27 - Female tree swallows usually
incubate the eggs for 11-minute time spans, taking around 9 minutes in
between to find food.
|
|
May 25 - The incubation period for tree swallows is usually 14 - 15 days, so these eggs should hatch on the 5th or 6th of June.
|
|
May 24 - The male pops his head into the box with another feather in his beak. The female is incubating the eggs.
|
|
May 23 - No new eggs were laid today, so it looks like the clutch is complete at 5 eggs.
|
|
May 22 - The fifth egg arrived around 9am this morning. Tree Swallow clutch sizes average between 4 and 7 eggs.
|
|
May 21 - Four eggs are now cradled in the well feathered nest.
|
|
May 20 - Just after 7 am, the female laid the third egg.
|
|
May 19 - The second egg appeared
today! The feathers curling over the eggs slow the cooling rate
of the nest, act as a moisture barrier, and may reduce parasite
infestation.
|
|
May 18 - The first tree swallow egg
was laid around 7:00 this morning! The female will probably lay
one egg each day, creating a clutch of 4 to 7 eggs. |
|
May 15 - The female continues
perfecting the nest cup. She will position the feathers so that
the quills are embedded in the grass and the fluffy distal ends curl
over the eggs.
|
|
May 13 - Here’s a brief view of both
birds in the box. The male usually delivers nest material to the female, who arranges it in the nest.
|
|
May 11 - Presumably this is the female, using
her belly to create the nest cup, which is now fully lined with soft feathers.
|
|
May 10 - More feathers and nest
material, but no eggs yet. Feathered tree swallow nests
have been found to have higher nestling growth rates and lower parasite
infestations than nests without feathers.
|
|
May 9 - This tree swallow--probably the female--has been spending a lot of time in the box lately, working on shaping the nest.
|
|
May 8 - You can see how the feathers
are starting to build up in the box. Other materials used include
grasses, mosses, and pine needles, depending on what is at hand nearby.
|
|
May 6 - The tree swallows are back! Here, one is adding nest material to the box.
|
|
May 5 - We haven't seen the tree swallows for a few days now--hopefully they will be back soon!
|
|
May 1 - The nest is looking almost complete. The female may start laying soon.
|
|
April 30 - This is probably the
female, since males aren't known to help form the nest. However,
the same has been said for E. bluebirds, and the ones we've been
watching have shown this isn't true for all cases.
|
|
April 28 - The bird pressed into the
nest cup may be the female, though we can't be sure from the
photo. Adult males and females are nearly identical, though males
generally have slightly longer beaks and wings than females.
|
|
April 27 - Tree swallows tend to use a
lot of feathers in their nests--you can see one here. They add
the most feathers once egg-laying begins and arrange them so the eggs
are covered when not being incubated.
|
|
April 26 - This picture shows the tree swallow’s beautiful iridescent feathers as it works on the nest.
|
|
April 24 - The swallows must have decided to stay--they have a good start on their nest already.
|
|
April 23 - The Tree Swallows are back and have started adding nest material!
|
|
April 22 - The first bird to appear again looks like a Tree Swallow.
|
|
April 19 - The bluebirds are still around, though they don't seem to be making much progress on the nest.
|
|
April 16- Here's a rare shot of both the male and female in the box together.
|
|
April 12 - After a few days of no activity in the nest box, the male shows up again with more nest material.
|
|
April 9 - Declining numbers of W. Bluebirds have led
to the creation of many trails of Bluebird boxes. Hopefully these
will help reestablish local breeding populations and reverse the trend
in the data.
|
|
April 6 - Not much change in the nest box yet, but this pair seems like it will stick around.
|
|
April 4 - The male and female continue to add new material to the nest box every day.
|
|
April 2 - Unlike the male Eastern
Bluebird, you can see how the red coloring of the W. Bluebird’s breast
extends around his neck. Some males have a rust-colored back
patch, too.
|
|
April 1 - Here's the male Western Bluebird! He just dropped off some more nest material.
|
|
March 31 - One of the first few images of a female Western Bluebird bringing nest material into the nest box.
|
