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I always get a pair of Tee Swallows in the spring. This year is no different. They have started building nests in each of the two boxes I have paired up less than 10 feet apart. One box has what I call a half nest built. The other box which now has one egg in it would not be even a 1/4 done but has an egg on the wood floor of the box. It has now been three days and only the one egg. The couple are around. One is usually in the box. Is she incubating the one egg. The male is always around or on top of the box she is in it.
Attached a photo of the box.
That does not look like a TRES nest, more EABL to me. They do sometimes lay white eggs. I guess a bird could be incubating that one egg but she could also be egg bound. If that is the case, she’s in trouble. I hope that’s not it.
You could help her by lifting that egg with a plastic spoon and adding some dry straw or grass to the bottom.
Gin
Atlanta, GAHere is a picture of the Tree Swallow that watches over the nest from a distance and will fly into the nest often during the day.
The picture of the egg and nest is not the best picture. You have to imagine looking down the nest tube. The nest is bowled to the outside and may only be a 1/2″ in height. Bowled to the outside of the tube.
And yes you are right about the white egg as I have had them before.
I don’t know what is going on. Tonight I come home and the female is sitting in the box that has had no eggs.
I checked the box that had the one egg and tonight there is a second egg, the nest is still not built up and there is a feather on top of the nest which usually tells me the nest is built. Why is mom in the other nest box, why is the nest not built up and why now after days a second egg and not more.
Typically when I go around a nest box the Tree Swallows will fly over my head with a chattering sound. This couple gets really close and does a puffing or like they are trying to blow air at me.
Don’t have TRES, but I think I would do what Gin suggested & pad bottom of nest with dry grass/straw just in case. Maybe this is an inexperienced couple? Hopefully, someone else with experience can offer you more.
Nicole
I have a pair of TRES with 6 eggs that I believe hatched today, as the pair is flying in and out all day long. I assume they are feeding the newborn. There is never a time when one of the parents isn’t in the nest, so it’s impossible to monitor, unlike my blue birds who left the nest frequently so I could monitor.
Does anyone have experience with monitoring TRES nest boxes? Seems like a completely different experience then with blue birds.
I have 7 TRES eggs that should be hatching the end of the week or so. I do check on the eggs daily, as I walk up to the box I make sure she hears my voice for a minute or two and stand a few feet away. Usually she does fly out. I hope for this to be my first successful brood and 7 sure is exciting. I had 3 killed by Sparrows last year.
I’m no pro on them but my nest was very “weakly made” when the first 3 eggs we’re laid. They too were on the bottom of the box. It seemed like she somehow added more grass and moved them around when she laid the 4th. There were only like 2 feathers but when she laid the 6th the box was so full of feathers I couldn’t see the eggs!
It is rare to not have either mom or dad in the box, but they seem more comfortable with me and it gets easier and easier to coax them out.
Good luck to all!I have a pair of TRES with 6 eggs that I believe hatched today, as the pair is flying in and out all day long. I assume they are feeding the newborn. There is never a time when one of the parents isn’t in the nest, so it’s impossible to monitor, unlike my blue birds who left the nest frequently so I could monitor.
Does anyone have experience with monitoring TRES nest boxes? Seems like a completely different experience then with blue birds.
I set out to do Bluebirds. But my experience now for 13 years is I have had way more TRES. They probably triple the hatchings of the Bluebirds.
I have 7 TRES eggs that should be hatching the end of the week or so. I do check on the eggs daily, as I walk up to the box I make sure she hears my voice for a minute or two and stand a few feet away. Usually she does fly out. I hope for this to be my first successful brood and 7 sure is exciting. I had 3 killed by Sparrows last year.
I’m no pro on them but my nest was very “weakly made” when the first 3 eggs we’re laid. They too were on the bottom of the box. It seemed like she somehow added more grass and moved them around when she laid the 4th. There were only like 2 feathers but when she laid the 6th the box was so full of feathers I couldn’t see the eggs!
It is rare to not have either mom or dad in the box, but they seem more comfortable with me and it gets easier and easier to coax them out.
Good luck to all!All of my TRES have gotten used to me being around. This couple not so much. They don’t like it at all and have put up the biggest fuss over all of them.
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