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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Ducks and Ducklings

 We have had 3 duck families showing up below our house, including April's.  

These videos look better if you click the full screen option.

I've captured this Common Merganser and her 15 ducklings on trail cameras numerous times.

You can hear this Belted Kingfisher who is perched on top of my trail camera and then dives into the river for a fish.

This lone Hooded Merganser shows up often. Here she shows off her underwater swimming skills looking for fish, crustaceans, and insect larvae.

The Common Merganser, again, with her ducklings.

April and her 5 ducklings.  The 6th one perished somewhere.

The 3rd duck family, not shown, is a Mallard with 3 ducklings.

Gail's Birthday!

This is Gail's birthday month, and that means dinners out and day trips.

 We had ordered a new car for Gail, and fittingly, it came in right before her birthday.  She has named it "Sparkle Motion".  That's James, who was so nice and professional for a car dealer, that I didn't even feel like bargaining with him. 

I set up the old Williams family tent by the river as a birthday surprise.  We spent the night with Daisy, lulled by the sound of the river.

Cummins Creek Gwynn Creek Loop

 I am way behind on posting as it has been very busy here with yard work and SWIFTY nest box monitoring.  I'll start with a pleasant hike we did at the end of May.

Camassia quamash

You know Daisy is happy when she flips around on her back in the grass.

Getting near the high point of this 8 mile hike and close to our lunch spot.

Lupine

Iris tenax (Toughleaf Iris)

One of our favorite trees.  We call this Douglas Fir "Big Momma".

Can't get enough of these two!

Mother's Day Surprise

 On Mother's Day, May 14, April's eggs hatched in the morning.  Knowing that they would leave the nest within 24 hours, Gail and I were glued to the TV monitor.  When they settled in for the night under mom, we knew tomorrow would be the big day.

April leaving her nest box on the 14th to go fishing.

The morning of the 15th, and April is on the ground outside the box calling to her ducklings.  They're very excited and starting to climb out of the box. They all climbed up and out in a period of about one minute.

April is between the duck box and the river, calling to her brood.  Her call was a soft, low, croaking sound. Near the end of the video, you can see the last little duckling free falling from the duck box into the grass. This is best seen by clicking to full screen.

Since we were in the house watching the TV monitor, and there was no good place to view the fledging without the risk of disrupting this critical moment, we thought we might never see them again.  We were very lucky, though, to look down on the river from the road, about 15 minutes after fledging, and see them through all the trees and vegetation and get a telephoto picture.  They had swum about 50 yards up river and through some light rapids. 

It could be that April was the same Hooded Merganser that nested in our box last year.  Maybe we'll see her again next spring.

We were amazed how clean her nest was after about 6 weeks of habitation.  She ate the egg shells, there was no poop, and no smell.  On the left, you can see the grooves I cut into the inside of the box front to serve as a ladder for the ducklings to climb up.

We are in awe of the whole process, and learned a lot first hand.  We are very happy that all the ducks successfully fledged and are together with mom.  Although they can do short dives and find their own food, the mother will stay with them for about the next 90 days.

Trail Cam Photos and "April" Update

 "April" Update 

April 10

We thought April was setting on her eggs, beginning the incubation process, but now we are not sure.  After sitting on her eggs most of yesterday, she covered her eggs completely, and left the box at 3:20 P.M. She has not yet returned, as of 1:00 P.M. today.  This is a more complicated process than I thought.            

Trail Cam Videos

Not sure, but my guesses in order are:  mink, weasel, otter.

   

Canada goose out for a stroll

Holy Merganser!

 Yesterday evening, Gail and I were sitting by the window, watching the river, when she said it might be a good idea to look at our duck box camera TV.  I replied that I had been checking it every day, and nothing was going on. We looked anyway, and wow, there was a Hooded Merganser tending at least 3 eggs.  I had looked several hours earlier and didn't see any.  What was happening?

April 6

After watching her for over an hour, she carefully started covering up her eggs with pine shavings and left the box. It was nearly dark, and after checking for another 2 hours, she didn't return.  I realized then that this probably means she is still laying eggs, but not incubating them yet.  It was as if she was tucking them in for the night, and then leaving the box to roost or hunker down somewhere else. Last year we named our Hooded Merganser that nested successfully in our duck box "April".  Since they often return to the same nest the following year, this could be April.  The eggs will all hatch within a few hours of each other, and then within 24 hours, April will call from outside the nest box, and the ducklings will climb up and out of the box, one by one.  They will be feathered in down, able to swim, and can catch food.  Hopefully, this year will have a happy ending for the nest.

The camera system is a little funky.  It is a cheap analog camera inside the ceiling of the duck box.  A cable runs from the box next to the river, up a steep bank, to the house where it is connected to an old TV with RCA inputs.  In the video, you can hear rain drops landing on the sheet metal of the predator guard. 

Sunday Update

April returned to her nest yesterday evening and has been sitting on her eggs since.  April 8 marks the first day of incubation.  Incubation can last 26 to 41 days. I could see at least 4 eggs at one time, but there could be more that I can't see, as normal clutch size is 5-13 eggs.  The night camera image is clearer than the daytime image because it works using infrared light.  These videos are night videos.

April 9

This is April's nest box along the river below our house.