Cavity-Nesting Songbirds
Results
The nest box clusters were set up as follows:
Cluster 1 - set up along a public gravel road surrounded by hayfields
Cluster 2 - set up along a public gravel road with pasture on one side and a small woodlot and agricultural field on the other side of the road
Cluster 3 - set up along a public gravel road with an industrial mine site on one side and agricultural fields on the other side of the road
Cluster 4 - set up along a private gravel road with forest on both sides of the road
Cluster 5 - set up along a public gravel road with pastures on both sides of the road and Genesee Lake to the East
Overall, 44 of the 50 boxes (88%) were used! This is a remarkable result in itself and indicates the lack of natural cavities in the area we selected for the experiment. Out of all the used boxes, 39 of them had at least one egg laid, and only five nests remained at the nest building stage. As expected, the Tree swallows occupied most of the boxes, laying eggs in 31 boxes, while House wrens used six boxes for breeding. We managed to band 22 young swallows before they left the nest.
.png)
Figure1. Breeding parameters of Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting in nest box colonies provided within the Genesee Bird Project boundary in 2023.