Friday, May 2, 2014,

Four Harbors Audubon Society and the folks at Avalon Park and Preserve in Stony Brook have teamed up for years to provide bluebird boxes at Avalon with the sincere hope to attract our New York State Bird, the beautiful Eastern Bluebird. We get distressingly few bluebirds but those boxes don’t go unused. As it turns out, Tree Swallows are amongst several species that are fond of the same kind of homes that would attract bluebirds.   

This is a pair of Tree Swallows sharing a moment atop the bluebird box they have chosen for this year’s nest. A bit of a breather from the toils of the morning. They’ve both been very busy. On the right is the female. She spends much of her time collecting nesting material from the nearby fields. From what I could observe most of it appeared to be long strips of dried grasses or similar stuff. After selecting each piece, and she does seem to be kinda choosy, she brings it back to the box where she is building her nest. Then she disappears into the box for several minutes. I can’t see into the box but she’s obviously constructing her nest within. And then she’s out again, searching for more to add to the nest. It’s all go, go, go for this lady.

Meanwhile, lets not forget that male. It’s a busy day for him as well. His time is occupied by looking good in those pretty cerulean duds and watching his mate do all the work. Occasionally, he peeks in on her handiwork. Hey, it’s not easy being green, er, blue. It’s harder still deciding how to tell the missus that maybe the couch should go beneath the window. JK