Tree Swallows arrived this morning

[Caroline]

I have a nest box set up about 40' from the PM pole as part of the Tree Swallow/Blue Bird/Purple Martin protocol - which truly works by the way.

About 10 a.m. today I heard hysterical chattering and saw a lot of white chest flashes and frenzied flying. Yes! It was the Tree Swallows, seven or eight of them, mobbing the nest box, knocking one another around, and adding to my suspicions that Spring may be arriving.

This box normally hosts chickadees very early in the season. After they fledge the TS take over. I have a similar box in the back of my neighbor's yard. Its occupants alternate between Tree Swallows one season and House Wrens the next.

The same neighbors said I can put another nest box up near the shrubs in their front yard. I think I will; it will add the third "leg" to the TS/BB/PM protocol.

There use to be a good link to this protocol in my "favorites." It was connected to a "Drug Free Workplace" company, but seems to have disappeared. I think I had printed a copy. I'll have to search for it.

[SYmywa]

Sure hope it works here as well, we started /w TS/BB houses 10 yrs ago.
The colony now numbers 30+ TS and a pair of BB., and even so we had an S.Y-M coexist in 2014 for 30 days
and would forage /w and join in the frenzied ball to move killer Hawks out off site!
He never found a nest mate, but roosted in the new T-8 we raised in 2014, and did have up to 4 other PM visit, during his stay.
Twas a very interesting experience
Had an S.Y.F camp here for 5 days, had a visitor, but no nesting, 2015.

Think Purple
Jerome