Subject: Couples settling down
Date: Apr 12 17:15:47 1997
From: jbroadus at seanet.com - jbroadus at seanet.com


On the spring pairing up thread: our B.C. chickadees are seriously carrying
moss into their nest box (chickadees seem serious about everything), a pair
of V.G. swallows is making daily trips to a swallow box on our garage (I
believe Clarice noted that,using a wrist rocket, I managed to nail a house
sparrow that was sitting on the swallow box singing. I had set the box in
such a position that I get a clear shot from the hot tub on our deck, and any
misses fly harmlessly out to our pasture. My example of planning out your
nest box placement). Also managed to trap a couple of house sparrows that
were trying to couple up themselves.

Most interesting-- this morning we went for a bike ride on the Interurban
trail. Right at half way between highway 18 and the Auburn trailhead (which
is on Main Street west of downtown Auburn) there is a small grove of
cottonwoods just west of the trail. A fresh looking and active redtail nest
is being sat upon in quite plain view in one of the taller trees. I was a bit
surprised, as this is a really populated trail and a very viewable nest spot
for a redtail (binoculars not really necessary). I suppose it will get more
hidden as the trees leaf out better. I wonder if redtails are, by necessity,
getting more and more complacent about nesting around traffic. I seem to
recall a spot on CNN a year or so ago about a redtail nest on a downtown fire
escape just off of Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas. I guess the survivors
become urban birds.
-------------------------------------
Name: Jerry Broadus
jbroadus at seanet.com
901-16th. St S.W.
Puyallup, Wa. 98371
206-845-3156
04/12/97
17:15:47