Operation NestWatch

 NestWatch is an international database that collects bird nesting data from around the world. SWIFTY has 197 nest boxes that we are monitoring every 3 to 7 days during the nesting season. I'm responsible for 40 nest boxes in the Yachats River Valley and have deputized Gail to be my assistant.  Not only is this interesting, but this has been a great way to meet many of our neighbors and swap stories.  It is also a good excuse to not do work around our place.  Doing the rounds takes about 2 1/2 to 4 hours, depending on how much talking goes on.  When I get home, it takes another 60 to 90 minutes to enter all the data.

Below, is a screenshot of part of SWIFTY's NestWatch homepage.  The map shows my territory, with the nest boxes spanning about 5 miles.  The Quick Summary reflects data entered up to this point in the nesting season.

The following is a glimpse of some of the properties we go onto.  Some of the folks we've met have lived in this valley their whole lives.  Others, like us, are relatively recent arrivals from California and other places.  All the participants are very nice, grateful, and most don't care if we come on their properties anytime without notice.

I use an endoscope to look inside the box without opening it.  We check for things like nest status, number of eggs, cowbird activity, number of live young, dead young, amount of feathering on young, and if the adult is on the nest, flies off the nest, or is in the vicinity.  This is Nancy's property at the end of the road.

Another view of Nancy's pond.

Ted and Vicky's home.  There is an active tree swallow box on that utility pole.

This is Cougar Dave's and Brenda's property.  6 out of their 7 boxes have eggs or young in them - a real swallow paradise with the big meadow, pond, river, and forest.  There are a number of Daves in the valley, so they each have prefixes.  There is Cougar Dave, Turbo Dave, Pizza Dave, and at least a couple others.

Jirivil's nest box and home.  She is a songwriter who sings to the birds and sang us a song from her porch while we checked the nest.  

We are about to check the nest box on Carol's property.  It's interesting how many strong women live on their own out here.

Marty and Steve's property with one of their 2 swallow boxes in the center of the picture. Steve is 89 and has lived in the valley all his life.

Carlotta's and Terry's property is the 5 mile meadow.  Carlotta is a wonderful baker, and sells pies, cookies, eggs, and other goodies on Saturdays.  Better get there early!

One of Judy's pastures with an active swallow box on the fence post.

Josh and Susan's place. They bought the building for a little over a hundred thousand.  It was the old grange hall, basically a community center for the area.  They totally went through it, put a foundation under it, and it is beautifully modern inside.  Susan is a sailmaker!

Two nest boxes here at Pete and Cheryl's.  Pete is a drummer, as well as Cougar Dave.

Gail gets to have plenty of dog fixes along the way.  This is Pepper.  Well that gives a little taste of what we do on our rounds.  It will be great to have this data to fine tune our box designs, locations, and the status of the birds we monitor.

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