Nesting Activity

There is an old orchard near me that is now owned by a town and maintained as open space for nature and recreation. Someone or some group has scattered a number of nesting boxes around the three main meadows in the area. These attract Tree Swallows and Eastern Bluebirds and there are some encounters. I captured a few photographs of Tree Swallows using a box occupied by Bluebirds as a perch.

The male Bluebird returns from gathering some food and the Swallows beat a retreat.

The Bluebird seems proud of his catch.

Purple Martins are communal by nature and a group maintains nesting sites for them on the wildlife refuge. They consist of gourd type nest boxes clustered together. The Martins have really taken to them. These are a male (top) and female (bottom) at the their gourds.

Nest building is a big deal for birds. Some seem more ambitious than others though. This is Tree Swallow picking up a pine needle for its nest.

However, this House Sparrow is a real go-getter. That’s a feather from a Mute Swan.

He did have to work hard to get his prize though. It was very windy and at one point he was wearing it instead of carrying it!

But he prevailed. Persistence pays off.