Box #1: Still empty. Brushed out some Vespids and re-applied lye soap to the box's upper interior parts.
Box #2: Still empty. Brushed out some Vespids and re-applied lye soap.
Box #3: There's still a Tree Swallow nest, with Tree swallows coming and going, but no eggs yet. A small Vespid nest was removed and lye soap re-applied.
Box #4: Two more Bluebird eggs have been added since last week, making for a total now of 3 eggs! My prediction is that earliest hatch date will be 5/16. The parents remained very close by as we checked the nestbox.
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| Box #4. Western Bluebird eggs. Isn't that just the perfect little Easter egg nest? |
Box #5: Empty, Vespids removed, lye applied.
Box #6: A Tree Swallow peeked out of the box and watched our approach -- leaving only when we got very close. And wow, there are 5 Tree Swallow eggs now! My prediction for the earliest hatch date is 5/15.
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| Box #6. Tree Swallow eggs. So pretty with all the feathers. |
Box #7. Empty, Vespids removed, lye applied.
Box #8. After opening the box, we realized a Tree Swallow remained sitting on the nest!! Jeff said this was very unusual behavior for this species. So, we closed the box and retreated. The mate immediately entered the box, and then after a minute or so, both birds successively left the box. Upon re-checking the nest, there are now 4 eggs (just 1 more than last week). Given the parent's nest fidelity and the fact that only one egg has been added since last week, my prediction is that the eggs are now being incubated -- with an earliest hatch date of 5/14.
Box #9: There are still only 4 Bluebird eggs, so they must be finished laying and now incubating. The Bluebird parents were seen nearby. I'm predicting that the eggs in this nestbox will be the first to hatch, possibly as early as 5/1.
Box #10: The nest that had been started is still unchanged ... and there are still no eggs. Both Tree Swallows and Bluebirds were seen around the box though.
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