So far this year, I have been able to confirm the following nesting birds on my property.
1] Hooded Mergansers - 2 broods. They use nest boxes set up in my ponds. 2] Tree Swallows - At least 4 pair...have not confirmed the success yet but there are still flying in and out of their boxes so that is good, especially with the poor weather we have had. 3] Barn Swallow - 1 pair in my pole building 4] Song Sparrow - Nesting in a juniper shrub right below my deck. 4 eggs observed. 5] Robin - in small Jack Pine in front yard 6] Eastern Bluebird - 1 pair with 5 hatchlings in box along my driveway. 7] Red Winged Blackbird - MANY nests around my ponds. 8] Kestrels - Nesting in Wood Duck Box in my field. 5 eggs laid, 4 hatchlings (3 males, 1 female). These birds were just banded this past weekend and look very healthy. An observation I have made in the past and this year is when Kestrels are nesting, Starlings, English Sparrows and Cowbirds are absent or significantly reduced. The tree swallows and RWB give them a hard time but they still nest very near them anyway. For those of you living in open areas, I encourage you to try and attract them. Not only are they a lot of fun to observe, actively hunting right outside our windows, but you get the added benefit of keeping the non-desirable birds at bay. I also suspect Sora Rail nesting activity as I have seen and heard them all Spring and into this summer. Hummingbirds have also been very active and I would presume nesting nearby. Canada Geese defended the property earlier this Spring but did not nest (I believe a young pair). My property consists of 40 acres, of which 10 is open and contains 4 small wildlife ponds (total acreage is about 2 acres). There are no doubt woodland species nesting but I have been unable to find any active nests as of yet, anyway. Uwe Kausch Duluth Township ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
