The Great Bird Confab...

...this post continues the house-hunting adventures of the Tree Swallow couple from the previous post (click here for the first installment). With the endless discussing, twittering and scolding going back and forth between these two swallows and the two angry little House Wrens, this "episode" is called The Great Bird Confab. It truly looked like a mighty discussion was taking place...pros and cons were being discussed by the swallows, and threats and barbs were being thrown all over the place between the swallows and the wrens...

A male and a female yearling Tree Swallow twitter back and forth at the entrance of a very popular nesting cavity! Female yearling Tree Swallows retain the brown color of their youth. As yearlings they have only a hint of the sparkling metallic blue and green feathers they will sport next season.  

House Wrens can sound a bit raucous even when they are happy, but when their ire has been raised, they are little hellions. This angry wren was vigorously defending her nesting cavity...

House Wrens often steal nesting cavities from other birds (and will even kill nestlings and larger birds to evict them), but this time, I think they were there first. Just below the hole the swallows were interested in was a downstairs entrance that was bursting with twigs--evidence that a House Wren had been working there and had already set up camp. House Wren nests are twiggy and look uncomfortable, but within the twigs they create a soft cup often filled with feathers from other birds. 

...meanwhile, these two continue to discuss the possibilities...

...weighing the pros and the cons...

...and who knows what else.

I think I'm being told to kindly butt out, take my camera elsewhere, move on, ride out on the horse I rode in on, or maybe I'm just being asked..."Do you mind?" It's an unnerving glare to say the least... 

Angry bird...
The wrens would come in close and scold, then fly back a bit and sit. Then come back in, scolding and chiding. I saw no physical contact, but things were heating up.

Seething bird...

...the swallows look like they are sniping at each other, but really, their singing back and forth was beautiful, musical and sweet--a quick jumble of fluid notes that was wonderful to listen to.

The female enters the nest again, and the story continues... 

There were a lot of photos to wade through here...sorry! I was going to choose just the best and post them in one entry, but since it's sometimes difficult to see Tree Swallows up close, I decided to post several of the photos to show the varied expressions, head tilts, and postures of the tree swallows. Artists can feel free to use the photos in this trilogy (another episode is coming) as references to study postures, plumage, etc.


These photos were all taken on May 7, 2012 at Magee Marsh in Toledo, Ohio. I was at the Biggest Week in American Birding festival. This is part two of a three-part series:

Click here for part 1 (focuses on a yearling female at the nesting cavity).
Click here for part 3 (closeups of a male Tree Swallow)