Swallow Monitoring. Cowichan Estuary April 3 rd to July 26th

Transcription

1 Swallow Monitoring Cowichan Estuary April 3 rd to July 26th

2 Monitors Boxes 1 to 10 Peter Scheiler, Carol Hartwig, Ray Demarchi Boxes 11 to 20 John Shaw Boxes 21 to 30 Janice Creed Boxes 31 to 40 Pam Bonnell

3 Date: 4-May-17 Time: 15:00To: 17:00 Box # of Birds Comments 111 outside TS (W) 1 inside TS 121 outside TS Ongoing activity for first time at this box. (W) 1 inside TS 131 outside TS I've seen building materials being brought here but no (W) 1 inside TS continuous activity here. 14 No noticeable activity today. (NW) 15 No noticeable activity today. (N) 16 No noticeable activity today. (SW) 171 outside TS Appeared to be the partner of female in 19. (W) 181 inside TS Saw female disappear inside but no activity after that. (NW) 191 inside TS Inside for 5 minutes and outside for same repeatedly. (W) Male sat at No noticeable activity today. (NW) General Comments. Letter in brackets below box number indicates general direction of box opening. Sunny and hot. Tried afternoon to see if activity pattern was any different from morning. Not many swallows feeding. No more than six in air at any one time. Spent first hour monitoring coming and going of boxes 16 to 19. Spent second hour monitoring boxes 11 to 15. Was surprised there wasn't more activity. The female would come back after feeding and perch by opening for a minute before entering. Aft first I thought she might be feeding young, but this is unlikely.

4 Rough timeline from pairing to fledging Nest building (mostly female) Eggs laid (4 to 7) Incubation (female) Feeding (both parents) 3 to 14 days Ovulation to egg laying 24 hours 14 days to hatching 18 to 22 days when young leave nest

5 Tree Swallows Just lookin

6 Tree Swallow Courtesy of Janice

7 Courtesy of Google images Violet Green Swallow

8 Young Tree Swallow Note the yellow on the beak.

9 One that didn t make it. I was surprised that it had reached this stage of development and yet did not survive. Swallows can be quite ruthless if the young do not fledge in time.

10 Cowichan Estuary Nestbox Cleanup Date: September 1, 2017 Start: 9:00 AM Finish: 12:00 PM Box Empty Nest 1 TS/White Bodies Nest 2 TS/White Bodies Other Observations Feather? /Eggs Feather? /Eggs 34 Y Y 0/3 N 3 white eggs. No droppings. TS (skimpy) 35 Y Y 0/0 N No droppings. Only a few feathers. P,S&C 36 Y Y 0/1 N One broken egg. Smaller nest. Looked like ants were taking over. P,S&C nest - 0/2 Empty TS (failed) nest - several/0 37 Y Y 0/0 N No droppings. P,S&C TS nest 38 Y Y 0/2 N Two white eggs. Few droppings. Incomplete 39 Y Y 0/0 N No droppings. Wasp nest under construction. P,S&C 40 Y Y 0/2 N 2 white eggs. No droppings. Few white feathers. P,S&C 34 2/14 # of Nests (all types) 4 0/0 26 % (of 40) 85% 10% 65% Totals 2/14 0/0 8/0 Notes: Teams of 2 or more worked well Equipment: Long pants (plenty of brambles) Check for time of low tide Dust mask (when cleaning nest boxes) Schedule for weekday Gum boots or footwear that will not pull off easily Gate closed on weekends Pliers for removing door nail Spatula for removing old nest and droppings Abbreviations: DNNR Does Not Need Repair Small brush for cleaning remainder of nest box 8 to 12 foot extendable ladder (5 boxes still need to be lowered) C&R Carol Hartwig and Ray Demarchi 3 by 2 foot piece of plywood for ladder support in mud J&M John Shaw and Marilyn Noll Tool belt, or something similar, for carrying brush, spatula etc. P,S&C Peter and Sheila Paul, Carol Milo Clip boards for observation sheets Cardboard box useful for collecting nests (for later study or photos) or other bag 3 copies of observation sheets (see next tab for copy) nest TS nest TS nest

11 Marsh Wren My companion for much of the time.

12 Great Blue Heron A common sight down at the estuary

13 Cedar Waxwing Seen on our photography outing.

14 Family of Turkey Vultures Hung around for a few days. Possibly teaching their young a few tricks.

15 Red-Winged Blackbirds Were often around in April and May

16 White Pelicans Heron What the?? Courtesy of Janice

17 White Pelican Just passin through!

18 Lesser Spotted Ornithologist Rare sighting. Often winters in New Zealand

19 River Otter Who are these funny people, and why are they taking my picture? Courtesy of Janice.

20 Canada Geese Mum, Dad and the kids

21 Spotted Towhee Courtesy of Janice