On July 6, in 2016, the US Drought Monitor released a report that said the entire state of Massachusetts was experiencing unusually dry weather. Most of Franklin County was identified as a “moderate drought area,” while the southeaster corner of Franklin County and the eastern half of Hampshire County were classified as areas experiencing severe drought.
One year later, we find ourselves soaked with water. I haven’t got a weather station that can measure the rain directly, but I can indirectly monitor the number of rainy days that we’ve had by simply looking through the pages of my black journal. By doing this, I see that the number of days that I’ve spent out on the deck is significantly lower this year that it was last year, because the weather hasn’t been as friendly to pen and paper. Translation: it has been raining a lot this spring.
This sets up an interesting set of conditions for the birds that nest in my yard. Last year was a phenomenal year for tree swallows, but an absolute disaster for the phoebes. A number of different factors were certainly in play, but last year was the first year that not a single phoebe chick fledged since I’ve lived in my house. Meanwhile, the tree swallows produced bumper crops of chicks that all seemed to survive with no losses in the nests. Similarly, the local bluebirds also did very well.
So what does all of the rain mean for the birds this year? Well, already the phoebes are doing very well. The first egg was laid on May 3, which compares nicely with the appearance of the first egg on May 5, 2016. By May 7 of this year, there were four eggs in the nest.
I was reluctant to disturb the female because of last year’s complete failure, but she eventually ended up with five eggs. Last year, the first phoebe nest was wiped out before a full clutch could be laid.
In 2016, the female phoebe gave it another try and a new egg appeared in the nest on May 22. In contrast, the female phoebe had five healthy chicks in her nest when Memorial Day weekend arrived this year. As of May 31, all is well with the phoebes, and I think the only issue may be that there are too many chicks to fit comfortably in the nest. I’ll have to rig up a little net that will catch anyone that falls before they hurt themselves.
Turning our attention to the tree swallows, there appears to be a fairly bountiful number of eggs in play this year. Of the four nest boxes that I have out in my yard, two are currently occupied by tree swallows. On May 27, while taking advantage of a rare rainless day to get some mowing done, I found that each of the nests contained three eggs. This is all fine and dandy right up to the point when the eggs finally hatch. Tree swallow eggs can survive cold and rainy weather quite nicely, but tree swallow chicks are another matter. Eggs simply need to be kept warm, but chicks need to be fed.
Cool temperatures and lots of active rain combine to make hunting conditions very challenging for tree swallows. Flying insects are much easier to find and capture when it’s not raining, and the really powerful storms that we seem to get regularly can keep the adult swallows grounded. They are safe and dry in the nest boxes, but there’s nothing to eat. I’m certain that the heavy rain presents a difficult challenge for the phoebes, as well, but their hunting method is quite different.
Swallows are aerial hunters that capture insects on the wing. Phoebes use two different techniques that may allow them to have more success in the rain.
One method is called “hawking,” which involves sitting on a favorable perch and waiting for a potential target to fly by. I have seen phoebes exploit another technique called “gleaning.” This involves the adult bird sitting and watching for flying insects, but then catching sight of stationary prey in open grassy areas and zipping over to snatch the creature off its own perch.
On the evening of May 30, I heard Susan exclaim, “Oh look, a rainbow!” That was the first evidence of sunlight I’d seen in days, and it was truly encouraging. The forecast, however, dampened my optimism just a bit. We’ll have to wait and see how things actually turn out, but I can guarantee that I’ll have my fingers crossed for the tree swallow chicks. The next time I peek into the swallow boxes I’d like to find happy, healthy chicks.
Bill Danielson has worked for the National Park Service, the US Forest Service, and the Massachusetts State Parks. He has been a professional writer and nature photographer for 19 years. Visit: www.speakingofnature.com for more information, or go to Speaking of Nature on Facebook.