Tree Swallow Nesting Practices

Meet Tachycineta bicolor - the Tree Swallow.          

This blue green feathered bird is among the first to return in the spring and they are a delight to watch as they chase and feed above the recovering burned prairie habitat out behind the house.           

This is a cavity-nesting bird and they'll compete with Bluebirds for rights to nest in all of the bluebird nest boxes we've built and disbursed.  Which is namely why the bluebird boxes are occupied by other species such as these swallows and house wrens.  But I digress.        

We've built plenty of affordable homes for all the box-dwelling birds and they are all a delight to watch.  The Tree Swallows line their nests with grass and feathers and as evidence of their successful courtship a walk from only a few days ago revealed that any number of the boxes may fledge successful broods.