Use the pages of Tree Swallow Life as your guide as you follow your birds through the stages of their nesting season, from start to finish, and beyond.
- Having your own Tree Swallow nest boxes gives you an unparalleled opportunity to witness the nesting cycle of these free-living songbirds up close. You won’t want to miss the chance to observe and learn as much as you can about this crucial part of Tree Swallow existence. To help you we offer Tree Swallow Life as a guide. Its pages give a sequential, topic by topic exploration of Tree Swallow ecology, biology and behavior during their nesting season and beyond through fall and winter. Photo above by Dr. Joel Eade of Kentucky.
- Your swallows are superb teachers, as you’ll find out. They really let you see what’s happening. We know your experiences with them will help you understand a great deal about songbird life and reproduction in general, and Tree Swallow nesting in particular.
- Songbird reproduction progresses through a regular succession of stages, each with its own set of significant events, activities, and pressures. The details differ by species, but the stages and issues apply to almost all.
- For our start to finish guide we’ve identified a set of these common stages and issues which we’ll present in the order they normally occur during the Tree Swallow nesting cycle. Plus, we’ve included aspects of Tree Swallow life history, management, and conservation that occur or apply outside the nesting season.
- The topics will complement and reinforce what you learn in the field. But they aren’t meant to replace your own observations, which are the real key to understanding the swallows and their world.
- We do hope you’ll won’t hurry on your visits to your boxes; that you take time to make watches because, as the saying goes:
“Hearing about something a hundred times is not as good as seeing it once.”
- Making field watches isn’t hard. Just bring along an old chair, and relax and observe for ten or fifteen minutes at several boxes in succession. Take notes or use a behavior check list if you want. Be sure to think about what you see, and speculate about causes. And of course make a round of nest box checks before you leave.
- We suggest you refer to the particular web site topics that correspond to the current nesting stage at your project. You can do this before visits as preparation for field watches, and afterward as you reflect on what you’ve seen.
- Of course the guide can’t prepare you for everything. There’s always the chance you’ll witness something totally unexpected. The swallow below, photographed by Mark Deprez of New York, has a rare mutation in its pigment producing system.
If you want to supplement Tree Swallow Life with other sources, here’s a few to consider:
- We think our journal, One Nesting Season with the Tree Swallows of Salmon Creek, makes a valuable companion learning tool to the Nesting Guide. We tried to be thorough and thought-provoking, and the format is a bit different, but we think you’ll like it.
- If you want a general reference, consider buying a companion print or online book such as “The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior.”
- Better yet get Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s “Handbook of Bird Biology, 3rd. Ed.” There are both print and online versions. And while you’re at it check the Lab of Ornithology Bird Academy’s many educational opportunities. They could make a great complements to your Tree Swallow nesting experiences.
- If you have a strong interest in anatomy and physiology of birds, “Manual of Ornithology” by Proctor and Lynch. It’s an “oldie but goodie” that combines excellent text with outstanding illustrations.
- Photo below by Michelle Lamberson of British Columbia.
So with no further ado, here’s a link to Tree Swallow Life’s first topic: Tree Swallow Spring Return
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Home: Tree Swallow Nest Box Projects
Creating Tree Swallow Nest Box Projects
Spring Return
Nesting Season Behavior
Song and Calls
Nest Site Claiming
Pair Formation
Nest Building
Bird Flight
Mating and Paternity
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