Thank you for sharing! We agree these types of birds are amazing to watch both in flight and as they build their home to grow a family. While the Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) of our video are migratory, you are likely seeing a different species of bird that is in the same family (Hirundinidae). Our best guess is you are seeing the Common House Martin (Delichon urbicum) as eBird shows plenty of sightings in the area you describe. Happy bird watching!
I live in the southeast. Tree swallows were first to my box that bluebirds used last year. So I put up a second box and now have both types of birds. Are tree swallows very territorial to their own species. Bluebirds are but seem to tolerate another species.
They can be territorial of their boxes, yes, it's best if the boxes are at least 35 feet apart. We follow the nest boxes recommendations here: nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/birds/tree-swallow/
We do empty the boxes at the end of the season to complete our monitoring and maintenance for the season and then new nests are built the following spring.
I had a couple of this beautiful bird but other birds killed them and make a new nest for different birds, I was crying a lot because I haven't idea how to protect them from depredators.
We are so sorry to hear that. There are predator guards you can add to a swallow box pole to help protect them from predators that might climb up. Keeping vegetation trimmed back can also help prevent predators from jumping onto the box. You can find out more information about how to protect swallow boxes here: nestwatch.org/connect/blog/predator-guards-carry-their-weight/
So sorry , it’s really upsetting that those kind of things happen to vulnerable birds . Do you know if house sparrows tried to move in ? Like said above predictor guards and making sure the box is at least 10 feet I think they say , from trees
I wondered about the ants I saw climbing on the tree swallow nest boxes in your video. I've been having a bad time with ants taking over my tree swallow boxes in Connecticut. The ants bring their eggs/larvae into the nesting material and start crawling on the nestlings. Have you had a problem with ants, and if so, what do you do about them if anything?
We recommend you try Tanglefoot insect barrier or something similar. You can apply it around the pole to stop ants from crawling up. It's a non-toxic sticky goo or tape.
This is a great question as they do look similar and have similar hunting flight. The Common House Martin (Delichon urbicum) and the Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) are both migratory birds of the family Hirundinidae. The Tree Swallow of this video are found in the Americas and the Common House Martin is found throughout Europe, Africa and Asia.
We recommend removing the old nest outside of nesting season, when swallows are not present. With an empty box they may be more likely to use it the next season. DO NOT remove during nesting season as they may use it more than once in a nesting season.
@@BallonaFriends do you recommend not removing the nest if it has a bad odor ? Obviously after they fledge . I did read that even after fledging that they still use the box for several weeks . We had house sparrows bothering ours so I don’t know if they decided to leave because of that however we did see a few of the fledging for at least a week with mom and dad .
