Remember Marcy Cunkelman’s bird house that hosted a family of chickadees last month?
After the babies fledged, the house was unoccupied. The chickadees didn’t reuse it because they raise only one brood per year.
The birdhouse was vacant, but not for long. New tenants have already moved in.
Above, a tree swallow peers out of the nestbox opening last week.
Inside, there are five eggs surrounded by fluffy feathers.
If all goes well there will soon be five mouths to feed.
(photos by Marcy Cunkelman)
Are all the feathers from the swallow or does she collect them?
The feathers are from other species and are added after egg-laying begins. They orient the feathers so they curl over the eggs. Swallows sometimes compete over the feathers they find.