What happened to my Eastern Phoebes?

Up until this morning I had a second clutch of Eastern Phobes nesting under the deck. This is the third year for this nest, and a successful group fledged about three weeks ago from the same nest.

This morning everything looked good. About an hour ago I took a look and the hatchlings weren't responding to the adults bringing food. I checked the nest and found two of the hatches on the ground and three dead in the nest.

The only difference from a month ago and now is a barn swallow nest under the same deck about 25' from the Phoebe nest.

Any ideas? I have been putting mealworms out for the Bluebirds and Phoebes.

Not happy about this and I'd like to correct anything that may need correction.

Thanks for any info that you may be able to share.

Here's a possibility. I've been reading a little about Barn Swallows and find that an unmated male may kill the nestlings of a mated pair. Could have been the situation although the Swallow may have killed the Phoebe nestlings since the Swallow nest hasn't hatched yet.

If that's the case I'll wait until the season is over, remove the Swallow nest, and try to encourage them to build a nest away from the Phoebe nest next year.

The Phoebe should be done for the season since this was the second brood. If she lays eggs again I'll have to keep an eye on the nest to see if a Swallow is the problem.

Jerry, interesting hypotheses. I have seen the nest of an Eastern Phoebe under a roof which was over a picnic table, and it was very similar to the nest of the Barn Swallow. I suspect you are correct.

Hope things improve.

David, they are similar, and in the heat of the season it may not have made much difference to the Swallow. If I take the human emotion out of this there is an interesting experiment about to happen.

I'm wondering if the Phoebe will lay eggs again since it is still relatively early in the second season. If she does, the Swallow chicks should hatch out before the Pheobe chicks. I'll watch both nests as best I can to see if either is raided. It may not be a Swallow, but another bird or creature that is on the prowl. At this point the Phoebe hasn't been around much and the Swallows are coming in regularly to the nest.

Every year I try to improve the habitat so moving the Swallows to an area less contested for space will one for next year.

Thanks for the reply.

Nature is cruel, from our standpoint. I have tree swallows nesting in my yard. They are very aggressive little birds and will build a nest ON TOP of bluebird hatchlings. Last year I had 2 bluebird nests and several tree swallow nests, only because I kept chasing the swallows away from the bluebird nesting areas. This year I was gone when they both started building nests and when I got home the swallows had chased away all the bluebirds. Next year I will be sure to stay home during April! Right now I am monitoring a killdeer nest with 4 eggs very closely as last year the magpies ate all 4 eggs from 3 different nests that the killdeer had sequentially laid in my yard. Poor little thing had a huge output of energy to lay 12 eggs and got NO babies. Yes, nature is cruel. And WE humans have severely altered the balance of nature. In decades past the predators kept the magpie and crow populations at a reasonable level, now we have minimal larger predators and huge numbers of magpies and crows which eat the snaller bird eggs and hatchlings.

Grace, I didn't realize that Swallows were that aggressive or I would have moved them on while they were building their nest. We've had problems in past years with House Wrens displacing Bluebirds but this year that didn't seem to be a problem. Next year I'll discourage the Swallows from building under the deck. Fortunately the Phoebes have had successful nests for the past three years and this is the first time things have gone badly.

We also have a Killdeer that has hatched 4 eggs. I've only seen all four hatches once but regularly see three with the female, I think. Do you know how long it will take for them to fly?

We have a lot of Coyote, Bobcat, and maybe a Cougar or two out here in the woods so they keep the Raccoon and other small predators down which makes it a little safer for the ground nesting birds.

I've also heard that Bull Frogs will take a small animal or bird. Not sure if that's true, but if it is that could be a problem also.

My only option is to let nature do its thing and try to not let the balance go out of whack.

Thanks for the reply and the info about Swallows. I thought all was calm but I guess that's not the way it works!

Jerry

In response to the "problems" with Tree Swallows and others . . . I highly recommend checking out the website www.sialis.org
It is a site FULL of info on how to attract & monitor Bluebird nests and the nesting of other birds. There is a section on Tree Swalllows: www.sialis.org/tres.htm Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Birdhouse Network is another great resource and program www.birds.cornell.edu
As a participant in the Birdhouse Network, I have many years experience in monitoring the nests of cavity nesters. Tree Swallows are not mean--and other birds will do the same to the competition. Bluebirds will drive the Tree Swallows away. The best method to try is to pair your nesting sites-- place a plastic gourd or box for the Bluebird and also place one for the Tree Swallows relatively close-- I think it helps to make sure entrance holes are not real visible to the other. Try this. The Tree Swallows are one of my favorites!
Joni James
Indiana