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Reports on use of our bird boxes Detailed report on individual boxes, 2003-07 
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Bird boxes at the FWGby Christine Hanrahan FWG, fall 1998 — Bird boxes attract cavity nesters, those species that nest in holes in trees. Nest boxes can never be exact substitutes for the real thing, but in the absence of a good supply of natural cavities, they certainly have a role to play. Not all cavity nesters adapt readily to bird boxes, but some species have become so used to using them that we often forget that bird boxes aren't their natural homes! During 1998 we erected 31 bird boxes at the FWG, and while they were put up too late for this year's nesters, we have great hopes for 1999. Thanks to Tony Gilchrist and his students at Notre Dame High School in Carleton Place we now have 18 good quality tree swallow boxes. Two were placed on the edge of the Backyard Garden, one in front of the Interpretive Centre, two in the Old Field, and the rest west and south of the pond in the New Woods area. At first, you may find the placement of the boxes in the last area a little confusing, for there are not only many relatively close together, but they also appear to face every which way. There is, however, a method to this seeming madness. By erecting a number of boxes in fairly close proximity I hope to alleviate some of the competition between tree swallows and house sparrows by offering enough boxes for all. We don't have many swallows or sparrows nesting in the garden — yet! — but because the sparrows live here year round they have "first dibs" at the boxes, leaving little choice for the swallows when they return in April. Since house sparrows and tree swallows don't mind nesting near each other — or near others of their own species — we may be able to provide homes for all. Placing the boxes so that they face in various directions, although always with a clear flight path to each one, should, in theory, lessen competition. If this doesn't work, I have plan #2 up my sleeve for the following year. Terry Clark, who along with Tony Denton, helped me erect the posts to hold the swallow boxes, generously made us 5 each of chickadee and house wren boxes, along with three great created flycatcher boxes. On a warm sunny late September day, I joined him and his wife Cathy at the FWG to put up these 13 boxes. Like most wrens, the male house wren makes a series of "dummy" nests to give his mate a choice (and probably to fool predators). I decided that the 5 boxes should be placed in one area but again facing different directions and a reasonable distance apart. Because house wrens prefer some cover and privacy, we put these boxes below the Backyard Garden in the ravine. If the wrens don't use them, I'm betting the chickadees will. The great crested flycatcher boxes are big as befits such a large flycatcher. Two of these boxes were placed in the ravine, and one at the north end of the woods, all about 8 feet above the ground. The chickadee boxes were located 4-5 feet above the ground in thickets near the Old Field Habitat, the ravine and the Ash Woodlot, spots where chickadees are frequently found.
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