Tree Swallows At Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge photo by Larry Jordan
The Tree Swallows are returning to northern California! Spring is approaching and Tree Swallows and Western Bluebirds are beginning to look for available nesting sites. If you have birdhouses (nestboxes) in your yard, make sure they have been cleaned out and are ready for your next inhabitants.
These two male Tree Swallows were eying this tiny cavity in this snag and taking turns showing it to the ladies. I don’t believe they would be able to use anything this size to create a nesting cavity but they are looking (click on photo for a larger picture).
Tree Swallows are beginning to pair up and will look for large cavities in which to build their nests. In northern California we have several large oak trees that will house large numbers of Tree Swallow pairs. They also take readily to man made birdhouses with the same configuration that Western Bluebirds occupy. If you live in an area where both of these species live, you can place two birdhouses, 25 feet apart and they will coexist happily, keeping other nesting birds away from their territory.
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I think this is one of the most striking photos I’ve seen on this blog yet! Wow! What great colors –only in nature do you see such variations of blue! Glad things are going well. I’m adding you to my sidebar.
Ah – so that’s were they went! 🙂
Great shots!
Cheers, Klaus
Nice shot. We are starting to get Tree Swallows back here in Kentucky too. Sure is a great sign of spring!
Vwery n ice picture of Tree swallows.
Maalies last blog post..Everglades revisited
You really ahve outdone yourself with these. Absolutely fabulous.
babooshkas last blog post..MY LOST DAY LOOKED LIKE THIS?- SKYWATCH
Excellent photos Larry!
I can’t wait until they return to our nest boxes.
MaineBirders last blog post..Rear View – Bird Photos
Great photo of the swallows. Like the eagles one post down too. Actually all the photos on your page are fabulous. Thanks for sharing.
kayleens last blog post..Skywatch Friday
What lovely photos of the birds. here in Sweden they come in early spring. Now we have a lot of snow.
Have a nice weekend
Gunilla in Sweden
Gunilla in Swedens last blog post..SkyWatch
Nice! I haven’t seen Tree Swallows in my neck of the woods, but was able to see tons of them while visiting Denver last summer. I think they look green, and someone else said blue. Really, they are sort-of iridescent, right? They are so colorful! Awesome picture Larry!!
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What a great action shot!
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