next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects
<div style=3D"font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif
This is a multipart message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_0003_01D5040F.FA35FB80
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Very interesting report Fritz. Thank you.
John
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca <naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca> On
Behalf Of Fritz McEvoy
Sent: Monday, May 06, 2019 13:07
To: naturens <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Subject: [NatureNS] Tree Swallow nest box report
Hi All,
I finally finished cleaning out my Tree Swallow boxes yesterday and
have some interesting findings.
There were 30 boxes checked this spring but only 25 were available for
nesting last year. Five boxes were left as is last season because they had
either active flying squirrel nests or were near active squirrel nests. This
year I was able to clean out and remove four of those boxes for repair and
relocation to a better location. The fifth box contained a red squirrel and
was again left as is for now.
The 25 other boxes were cleaned out, repaired and relocated where
needed. Twelve of the boxes contained Tree Swallow nests with breeding
evidence. Two of these nests had egg shells and none had dead chicks. There
were no partial nests. There was 1 flying squirrel nest, 1 partial flying
squirrel nest and 1 contained a red squirrel and roost/nest (I observed the
squirrel bring nesting materials into the box). The box left was left as is
for now.
June 2018 was a frigid month here and the tree swallows did not did
not construct nests or breed during that period. They left the area in late
June but returned in mid July when weather conditions were warmer. They then
proceeded to build nests and breed in Mid to late July. This is when the 12
nests mentioned above were constructed. I've never seen this behavior before
but it is interesting.
Last season I made and mounted 25 predator guards (3"x 3" x 1/4"
plexi with a 1 1/2" hole) on the boxes not left as is for the flying
squirrels. The results of this experiment were positive but mixed. None of
the guards showed any sign of squirrel damage but three had either red or
flying squirrel roosts/nests and in one I observed a red squirrel entering a
box with nesting materials. This tells me that squirrels (both red and
flying) have no problem entering a nest box through the 1 1/2" hole that is
accepted as standard in the nest box literature. Whether a squirrel can use
the box for breeding seems unlikely (a pregnant squirrel would be pretty big
for an 1 1/2" hole) but it seems using it has a roost or for predation could
be possible. I'll check the box in a couple of weeks a to confirm if its a
nest or roost.
I can't find much info on whether a smaller hole size will keep tree
swallows from using the nest box or how small a hole is required to keep out
squirrels. All the commercial predator guards I saw on line had 1 1/2" holes
and I saw no reports of them not keeping out squirrels. It's all a puzzle to
me. All the best.
Fritz McEvoy
Sunrise Valley (near Dingwall)
------=_NextPart_000_0003_01D5040F.FA35FB80
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<html xmlns:v=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" =
xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" =
xmlns:w=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" =
xmlns:m=3D"http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" =
xmlns=3D"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Dus-ascii"><meta name=3DGenerator content=3D"Microsoft Word 15 =
(filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.msonormal0, li.msonormal0, div.msonormal0
{mso-style-name:msonormal;
margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.EmailStyle19
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext=3D"edit" spidmax=3D"1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext=3D"edit">
<o:idmap v:ext=3D"edit" data=3D"1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=3DEN-CA link=3Dblue =
vlink=3Dpurple><div class=3DWordSection1><p class=3DMsoNormal><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>Very interesting =
report Fritz. Thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>John<o:p></o:p></sp=
an></p><p class=3DMsoNormal><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'><o:p> </o:p></=
span></p><div><div style=3D'border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 =
1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=3DMsoNormal><b><span =
lang=3DEN-US>From:</span></b><span lang=3DEN-US> =
naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca <naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca> =
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Fritz McEvoy<br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, May 06, 2019 =
13:07<br><b>To:</b> naturens =
<naturens@chebucto.ns.ca><br><b>Subject:</b> [NatureNS] Tree =
Swallow nest box report<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p =
class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Hi =
All, <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=3DMsoNormal><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> I finally =
finished cleaning out my Tree Swallow boxes yesterday and have some =
interesting findings. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p =
class=3DMsoNormal><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> =
There were 30 boxes checked this spring but only 25 were =