Part Two: Triumph to Tragedy to Triumph
As the weeks flowed by, each Monday was happily punctuated with a highly anticipated visit to the 15 sites of our future families. Our May 30th check bore feathered fruit. Three nest-boxes were home to bluebirds, with Box 7 hosting 6 bluebird young. Tree Swallows had occupied 7 boxes with females on eggs, We were thrilled.
Mid-June was a key time for the Mountain Bluebirds. Box 2 had 5 young, Box 5 contained 5 eggs and in Box 7, all of the young, with the exception of one, had fledged. Each Tree Swallow box, contained on average, 6 eggs. Box 10, much to our pleasure and surprise was home to 7 House Wren eggs. Overjoyed, Elaine and I pranced off to bird watch and photograph any magic moments in our 4 planned locations for the rest of the morning.
Hoping for continued success, we believed our June 19th check would hold more good news. Well, disappointment comes in a variety of forms. Box 3 was missing its top, normally held in place by two nails attached to chains. All 6 swallow eggs were gone. Box 5, a bluebird box, still had 5 eggs, but like the week before, no adults were about. Our one wren’s nest, in Box 10 had been opened. All 7 eggs were missing. On the bright side, Tree Swallows had hatched in four nest-boxes and in Box 15, 6 swallow eggs were present. Saddened by the losses, we pondered possible solutions to protecting the eggs and young in the weeks to come.
Over the course of the next month, we felt better about how things were going. To solve the challenges of human nest-box incursions, I installed two wood screws through the box tops to ensure they weren’t removed unless a person had a matching screwdriver type and size. In checking with Monty about the abandoned 5 bluebird eggs, he stated that this occurs when something happens to the female of the pair. Fortunately two bluebird pairs created a second clutch of eggs and a surprise pair of bluebirds took over Box 3, the box that had the top removed a month earlier. House Wrens now occupied three nest-boxes all with eggs or young inside. The Tree Swallows in Box 15, the 6 young and parent had left the nest, much to my relief, a relief that I will explain in the closing column of our nest-box adventures.
On August 7th we experienced feelings of joy and sadness. Expecting to see our favourite male Mountain Bluebird waiting to dive bomb my monitoring tour of Box 2, we found that had not only the last of the young birds fledged, but all three remaining bluebird boxes were empty. In fact only three boxes still had birds: Two swallow families and one clutch of wrens remained. The house wrens were newborns, weeks from freedom. Our duties were coming to a close.
Article and photos by:
Don & Elaine Cassidy
