Purple Martins, photo courtesy of SWIFTY
We concluded another successful year for our SWIFTY nest boxes, with an estimated several hundred boxes in the field. This year we added more than 130 boxes, the bulk constructed in workshops with Lincoln County Parks (swallows) and with Erick Horvath (Purple Martins). We monitored over 200 boxes this year. For our core group, we estimated over 400 hours of volunteer time! Highlights of SWIFTY’s 2024 season include:
Swallows: At most of our project locations, about 75% of our boxes have successful clutches. With the 163 swallow boxes we monitor, this represents over 500 successful fledglings!
Purple Martins (PUMAs): We started four new colonies (four to five boxes at each site), with two on the Alsea River and one each on the Salmon and Siletz Rivers. All had at least one successful clutch. Our two older sites also saw successful nesting attempts.
Wood Ducks: With ten boxes in the field, we are beginning to refine what we think Wood Ducks require for box location. Besides being near to water, they also need to be close to or in wooded cover.
Raptors: We built our first American Kestrel boxes this year and rebuilt the platform for the Osprey pole at the Yachats Community Park.
Public Outreach: We brought Dr. Sara Rockwell, head researcher of the PUMA Conservation Project, to Yachats and learned that our Oregon coast birds migrate to winter in southeastern Brazil--8000 miles away!
Purple Martins, photo courtesy of SWIFTY
Why is our work important? Swallows are migratory birds. Before human impact on the climate, migratory birds were favored over non-migratory birds as they could adapt more easily to climatic changes. However, because the climate is changing so fast, migratory birds are at higher risk due to drought, more intense storms, fires, and diminished food sources taking place within generations. Every nest box counts!