Nest Box Status – May

It was about a month ago since I posted about the status of the birds that use our nest boxes NEST BOX CHECK.

Many things have transpired since then. Here’s what’s going on:

Box A2 (Northwest corner of property)

This Bluebird couple just fledged their chicks on 5/12/23. First of the season, here. Yesterday, I saw the parents on the power line along the road that runs very close to the box. They were still hunting in the fields quite often (more than they need to feed themselves.) They were taking their catch to the top of the Osage Orange trees that grow about 30 feet south of the nest box. That’s where I assume the new fledglings are still being cared for by their parents. The first photo was taken 4/18/23, when the female was still incubating. The second photo was taken 5/13/23. There’s one egg that a bit buried and is probably old and never hatched. The chicks are starting their new lives under their parents assistance. Success!

Box W (North fence of Jay’s Pasture)

A month ago, there were 5 lovely Bluebird eggs in that box. Since then, I’ve filmed the parents feeding chicks on several occasions. I suspect they will fledge soon, as they were not far behind the couple in A2.

Box U (North end of East Fence line)

These Bluebirds have also been feeding chicks almost as long as the birds in Box W (above.)

Box R (SE corner of property)

This family of Bluebirds hatched about a week after the clutch in Box U (above.) The parents are busy feeding them. We took the picture of the chicks on 5/13/23.

Box P

At the previous status post there were 5 lovely eggs in this wooden box. I became suspicious about the status when I didn’t observe the female near the box for a few days. When I opened to check all the eggs were gone. I assume a predator (raccoon, perhaps a snake) made a meal of the eggs. When we put up-side-down bucket baffles on the boxes this Spring, we failed to follow-through on this box because it was on a large wooden post, rather than a metal T-post. So, it was going to require a different sort of predator guard. And time got away from us. Lesson learned. Fortunately, we have many birdhouse options and I’m fairly certain this couple is now building a nest in a box described below.

Box S (East fence-line, N end of Sham’s Paddock)

Tree Swallows are incubating eggs in this box. I’m so happy to have a Tree Swallow couple. I wrote about this pair on April 30, 2023 when I was privy to their mating NOT IMPRESSED. The female is spending time in the box incubating while her mate spends quite a bit of time perched very close to nest box.

Box L

In the past status post I documented that this old-style box was being considered by a Bluebird pair and I worried about the fact that it was in prime House Wren territory (House Wren can kill Bluebird or Tree Swallow chicks or destroy eggs (I have seen it first hand with both species.) The old model wasn’t designed to permit entry for status checks, other than using a scope. So, I decided to remove that older box and we erected a new FarmGoneWild style box in that location. I had seen House Wrens in the area, and when we checked the status on 5/13/23, we indeed found a House Wren nest with one egg. Having enough housing options for the different species hopefully prevents the need for extreme competition. Still, it’s natural.

Box J

This Bluebird couple FINALLY settled in and laid eggs. Mama is incubating.

Box 7

This is a wooden box that was made by a friend. We have it in our small orchard in our front yard area. This is our second Tree Swallow pair of the season. I just discovered them, yesterday and got a low-light picture.

Box 5

This is one of our homemade PVC boxes located on the north side of our front yard. A Bluebird couple has decided to raise their brood here. There are currently five eggs.

Box F

House Wrens are building a nest in this box. It’s located in a low area in our north pond meadow. Last year, Tree Swallows used this box.

Box M

Box M is located in old “A field” herding arena. There are House Wrens landing on and entering the box, and most recently I saw one of the pair with nesting material in it’s beak while what I assume is the male, “standing guard” on a post about 8 feet away.

Box B2

This is a very unique box. I designed it for Great Crested Flycatchers. It’s made of 6″ wide PVC pipe and is quite deep. It’s also mounted to a 16 foot high pole. For the last two seasons I’ve watched a Great Crested Flycatcher couple spending a lot of time at the top of a large, mature oak tree located in the front yard of our old house. I read that this species nests in cavities in the upper story of mature trees. Hoping that I might be able to entice them to a location that I could actually film, we put the box in the outer branches of the tree.

Before the Great Crested Flycatcher could discover it, a Bluebird couple has decided to use it. Now, most Bluebird boxes are positioned at 5-6′ high, so this is a departure from where they typically nest in man-made houses. However, Bluebirds are natural cavity nesters, and clearly the location of old woodpecker holes are likely to be very high in a tree. So, I shouldn’t have been surprised that this pair found the location just perfect!

I believe this may be the Bluebird couple that lost their eggs from Box P. This skyscraper option is located about 100 feet from Box P.

A few other notes

Box 4, in the front yard of our home, has a grass nest underway. This is a top slot, wood box that Tree Swallows used the last two years. I haven’t seen the birds associated with this nest. It appears more Bluebird than Tree Swallow, but it’s located within 25 feet of Box 5 that is being occupied by Bluebirds. They don’t tolerate other Bluebirds in such close proximity. So, it may be a nest they started but then moved to the PVC box. Alternatively, it’s a Tree Swallow nest that is void of thei characteristic feathers that I usually use to determine the owner.

Box 8 is a wooden box on the West fence line. It’s had a very slowly developing nest, but I can’t determine what species still. Tree Swallows are flying over that field often and they are perching on the power lines above the box. But, without eggs or a visual capture of the birds entering the box, time will have to tell who owns the nest.

OK… that’s the wild bird, nest-box activity status, here at our place for mid-May 2023.