When it rains it pours tree swallows and blue birds

OP, That would be so great!! I wish I had had a teacher like you. of course, back in the dark ages none of this would have been possible. hehe ^_^

Yes Dave, I think the meal worms are white and the worms that I have been putting in the cups are a golden brown color I haven't had much time to watch to see what birds are getting them :) I just hang them on the cedar limb that the blue birds are on all of the time. I'm glad they like spiders I have all kinds of those this year lol I got bit by one pulling violets last year.

pelletory, I have maylar I'll just have to get some dowels, no time for this year but next year I'll try and watch the nests, didn't have time to read all of it for now but my houses are on trees so I need to read the rest and see if that's good for trees I read that it's good for the ones on poles :)

OP, I'm really enjoying your pictures! I wish I had the time this year to keep a better eye on the birdies it's just been one of those years :)

Alison, I too am anxious to see how the new male reacts to the nestlings. They should have hatched yesterday but hadn't when we left for West Virginia yesterday morning. I won't know anything until we get back home Sunday night. I am worried a little.

OP, the nest cam I bought comes with 100 feet of cable, and you can buy extra cable in lengths of 100 feet. They say you can add several 100 foot lengths without noticeable loss of signal.

Birdie - I have to put up with so much teasing, and sometimes downright mean comments. This week especially. But, there are supportive colleagues as well that make it worth it. Thanks for your sweet comments - that helps. Two moms in my class have turned out to be avid bird watches - thank God. We are getting together Monday to get on the same page so they can help monitor the boxes in my absences, and with me. They live closer to school than I do, and their kids love the birds.

I will apply for the grant late summer. It's due October. I'll definitely pick you brain about it, Dave, and Marna's too! It will really make the blue bird trail effort real for the people at school.

So here' my update. I've never been so busy in my entire life as the past few weeks. On Thursday, June 11th we had 3 hatchlings, hopefully the final 2 hatched soon afterwards. I have not disturbed the blue birds since because we have been hatching "field days." Can you believe I placed our northern boxes smack dab in the middle of where parents sit to watch their little darlings run, jump, etc.? I never thought about it in the spring.

Anyway, the blues took it in stride. I cordoned off the area w/yellow caution tape, orange cones, and signs! I must say the hundreds of people attending Wed. and Fri. were incredibly respectful. We have two more days of this - Mon. and Wed. of this week.

I know the blue bird parents are fine because I have lured them into our courtyard directly in front of my classroom window (of course) w/a hanging cage similar to Dave's. I have a cup of mealworms in it, but the robins cannot get to them. The female found it first, and it took her a few minutes to figure out how to get inside! So we've had so darn much fun watching them. They actually look inside the room at us. I have a bird bath there, too, and both birds have been taking advantage of it.

Tree swallow update! I tried looking inside their box a couple times this week. The male flies out and sits on the building giving me "the look." I thought the female would exit, too. But, when I open the box she hunkers down obviously to protect the family. Truly, if I did not know she was still in the box, I wouldn't have a clue she was there. I would have to pry up her body to look, and I'm not about to do that. Since she flew out when she had eggs, I can only assume they have hatched. Here's the dad.

Oh, my colleague, Amy Powell, took the pictures.

Remember the feather tossing of a couple weeks ago? The feathers almost fill the box and cover the eggs. This photo was taken by my friend, Amy Powell, on the same day the blue bird eggs were hatching (June 11th).

I took a good look inside the boxes last p.m. These are the tree swallow babes. All 5 are beautiful.

Here's another.

One more of the babies. I carefully replaced the feathers on top of the little guys.

The blue bird babies are gorgeous, too. All 5.

And another.

The third. The parents watched carefully from the building roof-edge, and came down as soon as we left. They must have been quite stressed from all the action from noon until 3:00 w/ the kindergarteners' families surrounding them.

This is a photo of my homemade sparrow spooker. My son built it for me last summer. He couldn't find mylar, so he used potato chip bags. Hopefully it will continue to work. The blue birds will not land on it, but guard from the roof. However, I have not seen the male trying to chase it away anymore. It really bothered him at first.

I mentioned protecting the site from inquisitive visitors. This is how I separated the box from the seating area on the grass. People were very respectful. I put literature in a small box for those interested in learning about the blue birds.

This is a photo of the cage I hung in the courtyard which is on the opposite of the wing where the blue bird nesting box is. I have a small ceramic bowl for the mealworms. The cage keeps out the big birds. The blue birds got the hang of squeezing in it immediately. I look forward to the visitations of the children later in the summer.

OP, the two sets of babies are really wonderful. Tiny, precious little lives.

The babies are adorable OP!

They are darling OP...your students must be loving this and you!!

OP,m tis is wonderful. After last years problems, I am so happy that things seem to be progressing well for you all this year. the TS with the feater bed and blanket are adorable, as are the BB babies. The caged feeding station looks like a suet cage. What a great idea to turn it into a MW cage!! Your picture just sows the BB box area. Ia he TX on the other side? I think you had mentioned that arrangement earlier.
Congratulations and I hope the all fledge safely!!
Sheri

Quite an update, OP. Very exciting for the children -- and the teachers! I am keeping my fingers crossed for you on both nests.

Incidentally, mylar strips are used for the spooker because it is shiny also. Apparently the HOSP are leery of shiny things that move. I'd have your son keep on the lookout for some and replace it when he can.

Dave

Thanks Dave. I confiscated some mylar birthday balloons from another teacher! I will get on it soon. Thanks for your support everyone. Yesterday, my good friend, Dave (I believe most male blue bird lovers are named Dave), came to school and banded the babies. We had over 65 students experiencing the event. The best part is knowing that these kids will grow up respecting and understanding nature more than they did the day before.

Since the eggs were laid a week earlier than the previous two years, there's a chance I will get to see them fledge. The blue bird babies should fledge this weekend. I'll be leaving Sunday for 5 days.

I will post a couple pix showing the banding of the blues.

And a second.

Dave was able to band each bird in front of a separate group of children. So, each child got an up close look. He banded all 5 tree swallow babies which, incidently, are several days younger than the blue birds. We captured the parent ts and he banded them, too. You really can see the bright, shiny aluminum bands as they fly by. Check out the intent faces.

I don't know why the copyright stuff was printed. That is my photo. Maybe because of the way I transferred it through the internet. I'll try again so you can get a better look at it.

Children intently watching Dave w/baby tree swallow

For those of you that quickly realized that is an adult tree swallow, thanks! I'm getting my photos mixed up. Here's another of the adult beging banded.

This is a tree swallow.

Birdie Blue, this is the tree swallow box located on the east side of the building. Here's Dave replacing the babies after banding, and closing up the box. Whew! A job well done. The kids learned about swallows migrating to South America, and returning the next spring safely. The adult female is a year old. Maybe we will see her again next year.

Dave uses a GPS (?) to plot the exact location of the box when reporting the banding. What more can you want - math, social studies, and science all rolled into one lesson.

That is so neat OP. Those students are so fortunate. I wish I had had a teacher like you when I was in school. No telling what I might have become.

That is wonderful OP!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

Thanks for the support. Well, I do have awful news about the blue bird babies. When I got to work yesterday morning (Thur.) at 8:00 a.m., the nesting box was gone. You heard me right, someone unscrewed the box from the pole - sparrow spooker and all - and made off with it babies inside.

I spent hours investigating, made out a police report as recommended by the D.E.C., drove around the neighborhood, talked to residents, but the babies haven't turned up. I figured out the direction they went, though, because pieces of the spooker were scattered in the meadow. But no sign of the box.

Between 1-2 a.m. Thur. morning, more than one person, stole the birds. Just unbelievable. The adults have already shown interest in the box nearest the swallows so the babes are either dead or in someone's home. I'm going over this a.m. to see what's up, and visit more neighbors. Will keep you posted. Keep your fingers the swallows aren't tampered with.

Oh, by the way, for those of you unaware, it is a federal offense to do this to blue birds.

okay, this is a new one. How horrid and unbelievable.

This is sickening! I'm so sorry OP!

Oh that makes me feel sick.

That is so disgusting and so very sad. I hope the person or persons that did this are caught and I would like to personally flog them! I am so sorry OP for you, the students and of course the Blues.

Thanks all. I've scoured the neighborhood, and will continue to do so. It's really odd because the nesting box hasn't turned up. It was smashed. I'm wondering if someone has the birds in their house. Really weird. Someone knows something so I'm continuing to pass the word.

It was recommended that I label the boxes so if this happens again someone will know it's mine.

Anyways, the blue birds have begun a new nest near the swallows. The swallows should be fledging next week.

Have you thought about having the local newspaper do an article on the theft? It might get someone to talking since people that do this sort of thing usually can't keep their mouths shut! It would be worth a try.

Best of luck on the new BB nest and the Swallows fledging!!

that's my thought exactly Rose. !! It will also offer awareness for the future. i would LOVE to see these jerks prosecuted!