May 16, 2013
Tree Swallow in Nesting Box
This nesting box at the west end of the Lusitania Wet Meadow, was one of the first to be occupied this year. Most of the fourteen other swallow boxes on the Reservation also appear to be occupied. Tree swallows catch and consume flying insects on the wing, and thus reduce the number of insects that like to bite humans. A pair of the swallows can raise a brood of up to 6 chicks each year. In early fall the swallows gather in large flocks as they prepare to fly to the southern US for the winter.