April is always delightful, regardless of the weather, as it greens the land and returns our migrating birds.
The tree swallows are back and seriously pondering their real estate options. There are twenty-four nest boxes here to choose from. Location, location, location!!!
No superstitions about the number 13 here.
I watched a Hermit Thrush overturning dried leaves in it's search for edibles.
I often hear but seldom spot this shy fellow.
Showing his distinctly reddish tail.
A Cooper's hawk, intently scanning for a victim.
Crocus always win the first to bloom contest.
I snapped this picture of my south facing living room window this morning.
Can't believe what a champion bloomer this little viola is! I rescued it last fall as a very small, self-seeded plant in the driveway. It never paused all winter in pumping out cheerful flowers which look like smiling wee faces.
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Our election is just over and I believe that Canadians made the right choice. Mark Carney appears to be a strong, hard-working and sensible leader. He certainly has many challenges ahead to shepherd this vast and diverse country.
From the vantage of my living room couch, I have a perfect view of bird box No. 5.
A Tree Swallow calling dibs on box number Five.
Last summer, House Wrens raised a brood in this box. In late winter of this year, a pair of chickadees showed mild interest in it but then found somewhere better. Then a pair of White Breasted Nuthatches considered the box but decided it wasn't quite suitable. Really, they are spoiled for choice here as there are tree cavities aplenty!
Tree swallows currently occupy most of my 26 bird boxes and one couple decided to nest in No. 5. Unfortunately, a House Wren started to stuff it with twigs as part of his multi-nest/multi mate routine. House Wrens are very cute but are also little hoodlums. Aside from building nests on top of other species' nests, house wrens will peck holes in the eggs of the original owners and even kill defenders.
So I put up a smaller, decoy box to divert the wren's attention. He quickly started filling the new box with twigs as well. But here's the interesting part -- whenever he attempted to enter Box No. 5 which the swallows were using, a male Song Sparrow would drive him away! I'd never seen such a thing before. The Song Sparrow seemed to be acting as a sort of policeman or very keen member of neighbourhood watch. The sparrow himself had no interest in the box as they are not cavity nesters. Perhaps since Song Sparrows are plagued by cow birds, witnessing a home invasion strikes a nerve. At any rate, it was the first time I noticed this behaviour. It now seems the wren has given up his bid to annex Box No. 5 and is sticking with the smaller decoy box (plus three other boxes which I know of). The Song Sparrow was indeed a very useful neighbour to the swallows.
I added the smaller box on the left to divert the wren's attention.
Tree Swallows -- handsome aerialists and mosquito eaters!
The male House Wren. So cute, but also a scoundrel.
Wrennie Boy with a twig. Tree swallow in background.
My Song Sparrow is a sweet singer and also (surprise) a security guard.
As I was browsing through YouTube videos this afternoon, I saw a recent case of another Song Sparrow acting as security guard -- this time on behalf of chickadees. (Little hero appears in the following video at the 2:34 minute point) So it seems that all Song Sparrows have a tendency to protect their neighbour's property. A knight in streaky feathers!
More of my fluttery neighbours:
Fluffed and committed to nesting in Box Number Two.
A handsome guy talks to his mate in Box Number Four.
The same House Wren stuffing yet another box!
A Baltimore Oriole at the grape jelly station.
A hummer saying "Wait your turn!" to someone.
I'm lucky to have a good population of Tree Swallows but I'm also happy to have a pair of Barn Swallows close by. In fact, they've built a mud nest inside my garage. Both the male and the female construct the nest. When they take rest breaks, they converse with each other in an exhuberant, burbly language. If Ellie Mae walks by, they switch to scoldy words. She is no threat to them really, but they are not cat people!
Halfway through their mud and grass construction.
Working closely together, they gather grass clippings.
My clothesline is a favourite perch and sound stage.
This morning my walk to the bush was cut short because the snowy owls are still here and I didn't want to disturb them. One was at it's favourite station beside the laneway and a second owl was half a field away on another post. It is exceptional that the snowy owls are here in such numbers and staying so late before flying back up North. Interestingly, the local birds are ignoring them completely instead of mobbing them like they would a resident owl or hawk.
Owl No. 1 scanning for game beside the laneway to the bush.
Owl No. 2, half a field away.
A pair of tree swallows on the same box a snowy owl used for perching yesterday. Owl No. 2 is in the distance at right.
The same box with a view to the south, overlooking a small snow melt lake.
A more rustic box, but still 'home-sweet-home' to the tree swallows.
