The handsome bird from my last puzzler is a male tree swallow, as a few of my readers guessed. This bird is often seen swooping around fields and will readily nest in a bluebird box even though he’s obviously not a bluebird. In his defense no one told him the box wasn’t meant for him!
You may have noticed nest boxes along a bluebird trail often contain a pair of nesting boxes rather than just one.
This is a way to accommodate both species of birds as they will tolerate each other in close proximity but will not tolerate another bird of their kind. Thus, two bluebirds will not nest this close together, but a bluebird and a tree swallow will. Swallows are often more aggressive than bluebirds so if there is only one box, it will frequently go to the swallow and the bluebird will be left homeless. The best bluebird trails then feature pairs of nesting boxes.
Tree swallows are found throughout most of the northern United States and into Canada. They are 5 inches long, have an all-white underside, a back that appears bluish green or blueish black, and have a forked tail. Like other swallows they are skilled flyers, frequently seen spinning through the air in fields, meadows or marshes, especially near water.
They are cavity nesters and use many feathers that they collect to line their nests.
The other photo I included in the puzzler, of the immature birds on the dead tree, are rough-winged swallows. The have a brown back and no breast band as seen in the bank swallow.
I hope you all have a good weekend and a good 4th of July! I am taking a break from my blog posts for a bit to do some summer travel. See you again soon!
You know how much I love birds,hummingbirds at my feeder, blue birds in my birdhouses or any flying around or chirping at me on my porch railing and especially your beautiful photos of all things bright and beautiful. It was a happy day when I met you at the NC Arboretum at your exhibit.. Please exhibit again soon.
Flo, I hope you are well! I do remember meeting you and chatting for a long time with you. Thank you for your sweet comment–it means a lot to me that you would remember after all of this time! I will keep you in the loop for any new exhibits I have. Hope your day is going well. Thanks for reading my blog posts and for taking the time to get in touch.