Checking Last Season's Swallow Nests

In late winter of 2008 eleven swallow boxes were placed in pairs on posts along newly constructed aquatic channels in the Silverdale Creek Wetlands.  In April, May and June there was considerable activity around the boxes but checking the boxes too closely  was likely to disturb potentially nesting pairs.  Following the accepted practice we left the boxes undisturbed until today.  January and February are the preferred months to maintain and replace nesting boxes.  They are not being used at this time of
 year and will have a few months to weather and blend into the natural setting.     As a thirty year fish person my limited experience with birds caused me to believe that this period of weathering would allow all traces of human scent to leave the boxes and not frighten away nesting pairs.  However,SVSES's good friend and bird expert, Kiyoshi Takahashi,  has informed me that most birds do not have the ability to smell.  So even when handling young the old tale of the mother abandoning the chicks because of human scent  has no basis in fact.  I will ask Kiyoshi to review this entry and perhaps make comments to provide myself and other fish people with some more bird education.  

The Ice and snow made accessing the boxes somewhat difficult. 

 The aquatic area had frozen and then 

reflooded as water levels changed.  this resulted in two layers of ice.  As I carried

 the ladder across the shallows I would break through one layer and then the second layer of ice would give way and my leg would plunge all the way down to the muddy bottom.  The easiest progress was made by deliberately smashing a path trough the ice. 

Of the eleven boxes only one had been knocked off the pole.  I brought it back to the workshop to repair and use as a sample for West Heights Elementary School nesting box project.  

The other boxes were intact and secure on the posts.  Six showed no signs of occupation.  I cleaned these boxes out and

 placed fresh wood shavings in them.  The other boxes all showed signs of occupation last season.    Most had a combination of feathers and canary grass.  Hopefully Kiyoshi will get a chance to look at the pics and tell us what type of feathers these are.  They appear too large to be swallow so my bet is that swallows use scavenged feathers from other species to line their nests.  

Two of the boxes contained a dead bird each and one also had two unhatched eggs.  I would speculate that the cold spring this year resulted in these

 two females starving to death during the late cold snap we experienced.  During this time most insects disappeared making it very difficult for already nesting birds. 

 If you zoom in on this image you can see the mummified remains of the swallow and its two eggs