Swallows at Cold Creek Conservation Area declining

Photo by Barry Wallace

TREE SWALLOW

Tachycineta bicolor

I noticed in the recent 2012 Cold Creek nesting report numbers that Tree Swallows seemed to be down a little, while wrens, bluebirds and chickadees appeared up quite a bit.   I went back seven years and compared nesting numbers for 2005.  There were only 33 bird boxes at Cold Creek in 2005, compared with 55 boxes in 2012.   Taking that increase into consideration, one discovers that Tree Swallows occupied 15 of the 33 nesting boxes in 2005 or 45%.   In 2012, Tree Swallows occupied 12 of 55 boxes or 22%.   Other national bird surveys have shown even larger drops in Tree Swallow nesting numbers.   On the other hand, Cold Creek's number for wrens, bluebirds and chickadees are up much more, percentage-wise, than national bird surveys.   Obviously, Cold Creek's nest-box program has been very successful (for many different reasons) with lower rates of declines for some birds (swallows) and higher rates of increases for other nest-box birds.   Let's hope the Cold Creek Conservation Area's Stewardship Committee continues its fine work with its bird box program and that it contributes in its own way to fight the decline of many bird species in North America.

Please comment if you wish. 

BtheB