Closeups of a male Tree Swallow...

Matty and I just got back from our week of volunteering at Shawnee State Park. In addition to working with the snakes and helping in the nature center, we cleared brush, poison ivy, honeysuckle, and multiflora roses to help create a new trail that will lead from the boat ramp all the way around Turkey Lake to the lodge road. Before I post any of those photos (I got a few cool shots of interesting insects...and a Timber Rattlesnake), I thought I'd better finish off part three of the tree swallow series. In the end, the tree swallows moved on, and the house wrens went back to domestic bliss, but before the dispute ended, the male flew over close to me. I could see he was holding a wispy strand of soft nesting material in his right foot...

A male Tree Swallow carries nesting material in his right foot. 

...the striking metallic blue feathers on his back contrast beautifully with the white feathers on his neck, chest and belly.

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 three of the series:

Click here for part 1 (focuses on a yearling female at the nesting cavity).
Click here for part 2 (focuses on a territory dispute between two House Wrens and two Tree Swallows).

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)

Female Tree Swallow inspects a nesting cavity...

This yearling female Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) was giving a possible nesting cavity the once over. She studied it from every angle. Finally the male flew up to see if she liked it...

A female Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) checks out a possible nesting cavity....

You can tell this is a female yearling Tree Swallow because of her coloring. Adult male and female Tree Swallows look alike with metallic greenish-blue feathers on the upper parts and white feathers on the lower parts, but one-year old females retain the brownish feathers of youth with just a sprinkle of the metallic blue and green feathers on the back.

Our little female Tree Swallow looks happy with the site, and the male seems pleased too, but just a few branches over another bird was fit to be tied. More photos to come...

I saw this pair of Tree Swallows on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh in Toledo, Ohio on May 7, 2012. She was very thorough in her inspection. After the male flew up, they both sang to each other over and over. It looked like they had found their perfect springtime home... This is part one of a three-part series:

Click here for part 2 (focuses on a territory dispute between two House Wrens and two Tree Swallows).
Click here for part 3 (closeups of a male tree swallow).

Tree Swallows in the early spring...

Friday it was 62 degrees F in Cincy...and sunny! It's often below zero this time of the year, and thick grey clouds so low in the sky you can almost reach up and touch them can lock us in for months on end, so sunny and blue and warm is a gift I'm glad Mama Nature is handing out. The daffodils have pushed through the earth in our front yard, and it feels like spring, which made me think of one of our earliest spring migrants, the Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Every March I anticipate their return, watching and waiting for them to swoop down and into the nest boxes at VOA Park and Pine Hills Lakes. With the spring-like weather and blue, sunny skies, I couldn't help but have these sweet birds on my mind, so I went through old photos for inspiration for this painting...

Painting 204. Tree Swallow in Early Spring on Rusted Steel Post

(watercolor)

...another painting for Laure Ferlita's 100 Paintings Challenge. If you're an artist looking for a challenge, join up!

More Tree Swallows…

…these little guys were so friendly and entertaining, I could have stood there all day snapping away...and I did stay there quite a while, so I have enough Tree Swallow photos to last all month! Yeah! But I won’t do that…but maybe just a few more interesting shots...

Mama sits on the eggs for 13-16 days, and the 

babies remain in the nest for another 16-24 

days. Mama and papa both feed the babies.

Tree Swallows a Go-Go!

Rick, Matty and I went to VOA park this morning for a short bit of birding. The Tree Swallows were spectacular and had already claimed nest boxes. I had my hand up, pointing towards a nest box in the distance for Rick, and a swallow slowly hovered around me and was within three feet of landing on my hand. It was a lot of fun. We also saw our first Bobolink of the year and a migrating Horned Grebe, plus Wilson’s Snipe, Meadowlarks, Song Sparrows and all the other usual suspects! I’ll have photos over the next couple of days from this trip.

Our Dark-eyed Juncos have packed up and headed north for the summer, but the Tree Swallows are back at Pine Hill Lake!

Last Thursday evening I saw two Dark-eyed Juncos fly into one of the pine trees in our side yard, but since then I haven't seen any. I guess they took off that night for fun up north. I will miss their cute faces and sweet personalities. 

"Winter Visitor"

(pencil sketch/watercolor) 

Last night I played around in iMovie (a video maker on the Mac) and created a little video of our winter visitors. This is a total experiment. I wanted to learn how to use the program, so I jumped right in. It's pretty easy to use. The music doesn't really fit, but that's okay. I was just practicing. The stars of the show are the cute little birds that help get us through winter, always brightening our days!


Winter Visitors from Kelly Riccetti on Vimeo

The Tree Swallows are FINALLY back at Pine Hill Lake! As soon as I got close to the meadow today at lunch I could hear them and started looking around for them. There were only three, but they were making enough noise for twenty squabbling over one nest box in particular (the old red one!). I only had about 30 minutes to linger and watch, but that was enough time to watch them swoop in over and over, chittering and fighting with each other, so full of energy with non-stop aerial displays!

A Song Sparrow shows off...

Yesterday, at Pine Hill Lakes, while I was in the middle of the meadow weaving in and out of the grasses and thorns, I heard a little “jimp” call and slowed down to listen, finally seeing movement in an island of brush. Little by little, this sweet Song Sparrow hopped up to the top of a small tree for good viewing and didn't seem to mind me at all!

A Song Sparrow at Pine Hill Lakes Park. 

This fellow was so sweet, I ended up calling him Old SweetSong.

"I hear you, and I see you! Yes, you with the clicky thing."

Eventually, SweetSong got tired of me and blew on out 

of there. I like the blurry softness of this "poor" photo.

P.S.
Today at lunch, I took my mom to the Voice of American (VOA) Park and we saw our first Tree Swallows of the year! They were swooping and diving and looked fabulous. She also saw her first-ever Wilson's Snipe, and we were serenaded by numerous Eastern Meadowlarks, Kildeer, Red-winged Blackbirds, American Robins, Song Sparrows and a yet-to-be-identified sparrow that resembled a Song Sparrow but clearly wasn't. I have to go back and get a better view. We also saw the American Kestrel sitting in his usual tree...such a beautiful bird. The only water fowl there were a few Canada Geese and a pair or two of Mallards.

Photo of an American Kestrel from a week or so ago. 

Today, he was sitting in the exact tree as last wee. Not the

best photo, but you can make out his features...sort of!!