If you’re wondering what’s up, it is April 1st and this is our joke! What is no joke is the important improvements happening in the Mystic River watershed. Yes-bald eagles are back in the Mystic Lakes but no they don’t nest in boxes. This box is actually a cornhole game made by Bob Paine for our 23rd Mystic Herring Run & Paddle on May 18th at Blessing of the Bay. Don’t forget to sign up here.
Photo Credit:Jeanine Farley
Photo Credit:Jeanine Farley
What we have been building is tree swallow boxes. These were built on March 23rd and installed at Torbert Macdonald Park on March 30th with the help of dozens of volunteers.
Tree swallows thrive in open fields near forests and wetland habitat by rivers, lakes and flooded meadows. You may see them dart across the surface of the Mystic River or the Mystic Lakes, snatching bugs out of the sky. As cavity nesters, they pad holes in trees or birdhouses with soft feathers and other materials.
So why are we building birdhouses for the tree swallows?
Although their populations across North America are relatively stable, the number of local tree swallows is limited by the number of available nest sites. Over the last two centuries, natural cavity nest sites have decreased as forested wetlands were developed. Bird boxes help to maintain their range.
