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That is a fascinating update on breeding swallows. I had no idea they
would nest this late, but there should be plenty of time to fledge and
build up strength for the long flight, I suppose. They'll have to alter
diets a little. The deer flies are very abundant this year. I hope
they clean up on a few of them.
Just today I lamented how much I miss our swallows that have long ago
fledged and dispersed from the two active tree swallow houses this year
in our Tupperville back yard (near Annapolis Royal). We also use the
plates to keep out unwanted tenants, chiefly starlings that despite our
efforts still bred prolifically as usual, but at least not from our tree
swallow nest boxes. I also remarked this year that various barn and
cliff swallow 'colonies' continue to expand, and have perhaps the barn
swallows have returned to per-colapse numbers at some farmsteads, at
least those that still operate as farms. One can always hope.
Good luck with the Cape Breton swallows, and let us know how it goes.
Donna Crossland
Tupperville, Annapolis County
On 2018-07-19 4:00 PM, Fritz McEvoy wrote:
> Hi All,
> Like most of NS late May & June were cold and wet here in the
> highlands. Tree Swallows arrived in late May and through most of June
> hung about waiting for the weather to warm up and flying insects to
> arrive. This never really happened and most of my breeding flock
> appeared to have moved on by late June.
> I expected this was going to be a very bad year for swallow
> breeding with lots of partial nests and dead chicks but about ten days
> ago they reappeared and started the mating process again.
> Today I checked five of the boxes that have shown the most activity.
> One box had a used nest with breeding evidence, three had swallow
> chicks about half fledged and one just eggs. This seems very late for
> breeding here but I'm not complaining.
> Another reason for the late breeding may have to do with the
> predator guards I put on most of my boxes in May. Although squirrels
> are not - in my experience- swallow predators here, they do like to
> make the entrance holes bigger and then use the boxes as roosts or
> nests. The guards (a 3"x 3" Plexiglas plate with a 1 1/2" hole screwed
> over the box opening) seem to have worked well so far and the boxes
> have not been filled with hay or shredded bark.
> I'll have a better idea of how the season went in the fall after
> I've cleaned out the boxes. All the best.
>
> Fritz McEvoy
> Sunrise Valley, CB (near Dingwall)
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--Boundary_(ID_JhQ9au/BcZh9UbQ9yqq8Iw)
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<p>That is a fascinating update on breeding swallows. I had no idea
they would nest this late, but there should be plenty of time to
fledge and build up strength for the long flight, I suppose.
They'll have to alter diets a little. The deer flies are very
abundant this year. I hope they clean up on a few of them. <br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Just today I lamented how much I miss our swallows that have long
ago fledged and dispersed from the two active tree swallow houses
this year in our Tupperville back yard (near Annapolis Royal). We
also use the plates to keep out unwanted tenants, chiefly
starlings that despite our efforts still bred prolifically as
usual, but at least not from our tree swallow nest boxes. I also
remarked this year that various barn and cliff swallow 'colonies'
continue to expand, and have perhaps the barn swallows have
returned to per-colapse numbers at some farmsteads, at least those
that still operate as farms. One can always hope.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Good luck with the Cape Breton swallows, and let us know how it
goes.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Donna Crossland</p>
<p>Tupperville, Annapolis County<br>
</p>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2018-07-19 4:00 PM, Fritz McEvoy
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:DM3PR18MB0795665883E59F064BBD77DAB7520@DM3PR18MB0795.namprd18.prod.outlook.com">
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<div style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
Hi All, </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
Like most of NS late May & June were cold and wet here
in the highlands. Tree Swallows arrived in late May and through
most of June hung about waiting for the weather to warm up and
flying insects to arrive. This never really happened and most of
my breeding flock appeared to have moved on by late June. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
I expected this was going to be a very bad year for swallow
breeding with lots of partial nests and dead chicks but about
ten days ago they reappeared and started the mating process
again. Today I checked five of the boxes that
have shown the most activity. One box had a used nest with
breeding evidence, three had swallow chicks about half
fledged and one just eggs. This seems very late for breeding
here but I'm not complaining.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
Another reason for the late breeding may have to do with
the predator guards I put on most of my boxes in May. Although
squirrels are not - in my experience- swallow predators here,
they do like to make the entrance holes bigger and then use the
boxes as roosts or nests. The guards (a 3"x 3" Plexiglas plate
with a 1 1/2" hole screwed over the box opening) seem to have
w