2005 Nest Box Report

This year Friends of Fresh Pond Reservation put up and monitored eight nest boxes on the Reservation: the four tree swallow boxes built in 2004, and four new boxes designed for chickadees.

Tree Swallow Boxes

On April 7, 2005, the four swallow boxes were put up on metal posts with wire mesh predator guards, in the same locations as in 2004. The tree swallow boxes were opened occasionally to check progress and detect unwanted inhabitants. This procedure does not appear to unduly upset the birds: as soon as we moved away, the adults returned and behaved normally.

Tree Swallow Box Checks:

Date	Box 1 Black's Nook, West Shore	Box 2 Little Fresh Pond, North End	Box 3 Little Fresh Pond, South End	Box 4 Fresh Pond Inside Fence
April 21	Incomplete nest inside	Incomplete nest inside	Incomplete nest- looks "different"	Not checked
Late April	Swallows seen entering box	Swallows seen entering box	No swallows were seen near box	Swallows seen entering box
May 2	Incomplete nest	Incomplete nest	Incomplete nest- looks "different"	Not checked
May 31	Adult swallow inside-- did not leave (on eggs?)	Not checked	Not checked	Not checked,  Swallows seen entering box
June 9	About 4 very young swallows	3 or 4 young swallows	2 nearly-fledged house sparrows!	Not checked
June 13	2 nearly-fledged swallows	Not checked	Empty sparrow nest removed	Not checked
August 1	New nest on top of old one: 4 house wren eggs in it!  Box not taken down	Box taken down. Empty swallow nest inside	Box taken down	Box taken down. Empty swallow nest inside

Comments:

Because we did not monitor the boxes this year as closely as we did last year, we do not have as clear an idea of how many young swallows were fledged. Perhaps there were 10 to 14. It is possible that nest building was delayed, and some eggs or chicks were lost, due to prolonged periods of cold, wet weather in April and May. We plan to watch more closely next year for house sparrows, and to remove any nests before eggs are laid.

Chickadee Boxes

Four nesting boxes for chickadees were assembled during the "Chickadee Nest Box Workshop" on March 5, 2005. Tufted titmice, downy woodpeckers, and white-breasted nuthatches might also use this type box. These boxes were mounted on metal pipes with predator guards and, on March 13, were put up in back of Neville Place, on the borders of the grassy area. A handful of wood shavings were put in the bottom of each box as recommended on several websites. It is believed that the process of excavating a cavity, which chickadees must do in the wild, is a stimulus for nest building.

Comments:

Although chickadees were once observed perching on one of the boxes, no birds were seen entering any of them. No plans were made to open any of the boxes for inspection because we read that chickadees will abandon their nest if they are disturbed.

We speculate that the boxes were not occupied because they were put up too late for the nesting window of these hardy residents. The ground was frozen until about March 11, so that pipes couldn't be pounded in. Our plan for next year is to leave the boxes in place over the winter. We will check the insides after the weather turns cold, to be sure that no insects or other animals have moved in or left debris.

Elizabeth Wylde
for Friends of Fresh Pond Reservation
September 3, 2005