Control Sheets for Recording Tree Swallow Nesting Attempt Data

What are Control Sheets for Nest Boxes?

• Control Sheets for tracking Tree Swallow nesting attempts can be a vital part of your Tree Swallow project.  
• Control Sheets provide structure and organization by displaying crucial, date-related information about nests. This allows you to see when each box should be checked and when it must not be disturbed.
• Control Sheets also present basic nesting data for each nest attempt. This helps assess reproductive performance, to compare nesting attempts, and to compile Season Summaries.

How do you use Control Sheets for Nest Boxes?

• Control Sheets are data grids with headings at the top.  Since they are more complex than the other record sheets they require practice to use comfortably, but you’ll see how handy and important they are.  Let’s examine the fields one by one.

Control Sheet data fields:

• Box #:  A list of the numbers of every box in your project.  Each box will have its own series of spaces for numerical data entry spread horizontally across the sheet.
• Egg Date:  There is a space for the date the first egg was laid and another space for the date of the last egg.  Tree Swallows lay one egg per day, never more than one. Therefore, even if you can’t check often you can count backward and forward to determine approximate first and last egg dates.  It’s especially important to know the last egg date because it helps pinpoint the date when hatching will occur.
• Clutch #:  The total number of eggs laid by the female for this clutch.
• Egg #:  The total number of eggs present on the last box check before hatching.  This may be different than clutch # because eggs sometimes are removed by nest competitors.
• Last Egg Plus 3 6 9 12:  These are the calendar dates counting by threes from the date the last egg was laid.   Females are incubating during this interval so box checks need not be made at this box more often than every three days.  Since Tree Swallow incubation lasts about 14 days you should try to check for hatching soon after day 12.  Cross dates out lightly by pencil after they’ve passed.
• Hatch Date:  The date you believe or know the majority of young in a nest hatch. Many people use the date the first egg hatched as their official hatch date.  If you aren’t able to check a box at the anticipated hatch time count 14 days from the date the last egg was laid and enter that as the hatch date.
• Brood #:  The number of young known to hatch.  This is often less than the egg clutch number because not all eggs in every nest hatch.
• Hatch Date Plus 3 6 9 12:  These are the calendar dates counting by threes from the hatch date.  Adults are feeding nestlings now, and box checks aren’t needed at this box more often than every three days.  Knowing these dates is very important for three reasons.  The best time to trap and band adults is between hatching and day 6.  Nestlings should be banded at day 11 or 12, no sooner and no later.  And most important, knowing hatch date plus 12 lets you see when box checks at this box must stop.  The dates can be crossed out lightly in pencil after they’ve passed.
• Brood # D 12:  The number of young alive at the day 12 box check, or on the closest day before day 12.
• Fledge #:  The number of nestlings that appear to have left the box alive. This is determined by subtracting number of dead young found in the nest after fledging from the brood number on day 12.
• Totals:  For Egg #, Brood # at hatch, Brood # at D 12, and Fledge #. Totaled and write these under their respective columns (see example 3).

Note that in the example above that the numbers were filled in as they either occurred or could be determined.  As the egg and hatch dates plus 3, 6, 9 and 12 passed, each box was X’ed over.  We use red pencil. This makes it easier to see at a glance which boxes should be checked and when.

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Home: Tree Swallow Nest Box Projects

Creating Tree Swallow Nest Box Projects

Tree Swallow Life

Diary of One Season at Salmon Creek

Monitoring Nest Boxes and Keeping Records
Making Box Checks Keeping Box Records Control Sheets Season Summaries Print Sheets

Banding Your Tree Swallows Banding Adults Banding Nestlings

Tree Swallows in Research Research Bibliography Glossary of Terms

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