For 77 evenings, between August 6 and October 24, I left my home to count Chimney Swifts that were seeking a nightly roost site as they migrated through Central Ohio on their way to Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and the northwest corner of Brazil. Swifts showed up for 75 counts while two of the 77 evenings
Multiple teams worked in various ways to help our continent’s smallest falcon make the 2018 nesting season successful. In addition to the sparrow hawks fledging 62 young, the season included transferring an active nest with eggs to a new pole; five ornithologists from Ohio Wesleyan University banded kestrels for the first time; four kestrels from
In 2017, two nestbox grids of 25 and 32 boxes, respectively, raised a total of 214 swallows and 12 bluebirds on the Delaware Wildlife Area. In 2018, 25 boxes making up the Leonardsburg Road Grid were moved to join 30 boxes to make a grid of 55 boxes within a five-acre field on the west
Fifty-one seasons ago I read that nestboxes should be spaced at least one hundred yards from other boxes in order for our Eastern Bluebirds to nest in peace. My first season in 1968 is a long time ago and you would expect that by now, I would have seen everything there is to see as
Smith Park is located along Troy Road on Delaware, Ohio’s west side. Twenty nestboxes now stand 25 yards apart in a drainage ditch that parallels the road for 400 yards before it turns east into a pond. The nestbox trail was established in 2016 with its first eight boxes, and twelve boxes were added before
Early July is not the best time to report on avian nesting seasons since most species have not finished their seasonal use of nestboxes, nestjars, and nest platforms. Only Carolina Chickadees have completed their nesting season with four successful nests that produced 23 offspring after eight attempts with eggs. This was a terrible year for chickadees when
Delaware County Conservation – 2018 Early July Updates Read More »
