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Index of Subjects This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --Boundary_(ID_JhQ9au/BcZh9UbQ9yqq8Iw) Content-type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed Content-transfer-encoding: 8BIT 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) --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus --Boundary_(ID_JhQ9au/BcZh9UbQ9yqq8Iw) Content-type: text/html; charset=windows-1252 Content-transfer-encoding: 8BIT <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"> </head> <body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <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"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"> <style type="text/css" style="display:none;"> P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;} </style> <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