Who Gets the House?
Phenology – “a branch of science concerned with the relationship between climate and periodic biological phenomena (as the migration of birds or the flowering and fruiting of plants).
Most birds still cling to the old ways of building their nests. Robins build theirs in a crotch of an oak or an apple tree. Song sparrows and thrushes build theirs in low brush or tall grass, while common yellowthroats will build theirs right on the ground. Catbirds will settle into an opening in a dense thicket or amidst a maze of blackberry canes. Chickadees and sapsuckers like nothing better than a hole carved out some years ago by a pileated woodpecker in what is now a dead tree, the former preferring an address perhaps ten or twelve feet off the ground, while the latter like the view from the top stories.
Only a few have adapted to the modern possibility of raising their family in one of the birdhouses found in North Country yards and fields. Perhaps most birds have realized that the modest benefits provided by wooden walls and a roof are not worth the extra effort required to become a homeowner.
I know what some of you may be thinking: “Extra effort? What extra effort? The house is already there for the taking?”
[1] Photos and text by Carl D. Martland, founding member of ACT, long-time resident of Sugar Hill, and author of Sugar Hill Days: What’s Happening in the Fields, Wetlands, and Forests of a Small New Hampshire Town on the Western Edge of the White Mountain. Quotations from his book and his journals indicate the dates of and the situations depicted in the photos.
But then, the rest of you know what I’m referring to, namely “Space Wars!” Who wants the house, and who will get the house? In our region, bluebirds, tree swallows, and house wrens are the only ones willing to compete regularly in these housing struggles. Bluebirds prefer a house in an open area, perhaps a lawn with plenty of nearby perches on lilacs, maple trees and telephone wires. Tree swallows prefer waterfront property, but like many young families taking a vacation somewhere on the coast, they are willing to take a cheaper spot a block or two in from the water. Wrens are less particular, but they arrive later in the spring, so they must be willing to take whatever is available then. Space wars continue year after year, because they all like the location of what we call the “Front House,” because it is only a few feet from dense cover in the lilacs, on the edge of outstanding hunting grounds (i.e. our lawn), less than fifty yards from perches on tall maples and telephone wires, and just two hundred yards from the pond.
April and May: Open House
The house-hunting starts innocently enough in mid-April. The male tree swallows and bluebirds often arrive at the same time. They each fly around to see what’s available in the neighborhood, perhaps trying something that will please their mates:
April 14, 2009 60 degrees, beautiful. The first bluebird of the year landed on the Front House, then flew off. Five seconds later, the first tree swallow dropped onto the same rooftop.
April 16-18, 2008. Despite cool weather (38 degrees) and some snow, the 16th was the first day with any insects. It was also the day that the first tree swallows arrived. Probably no coincidence!
Saturday, April 18, 1998. A pair of tree swallows took a look at the bird house we’d put up on the telephone pole in the backyard. Then a pair of bluebirds came by and actually went in the house.
For a couple of weeks, the birds continue their search for the perfect house:
May 4, 2018. Tree swallows were flying by and checking out the bird houses in the front and back yards.
May 5-6, 2018. Three tree swallows flew circles about the pond and the front yard on the 5th. Male and female tree swallows checked out the Front House on the 6th, while wrens checked out the Fancy House in the Upper Meadow.
Since there are likely to be several bird houses in the neighborhood, the birds may take a while to make their choice.
May 15, 2015. A pair of bluebirds spent several minutes examining this birdhouse in the Upper Meadow, but they eventually decided not to stay
Bluebirds and tree swallows fight it out in the air, the bluebirds flying straight at the swallows, while the swallows circle in diminishing arcs eventually threatening to strike their foe. The battle for the house may continue for several days:
May 29, 2004 52 degrees at 10am. Mr. Bluebird is staking a claim on the Front House, but Mrs. is nowhere to be seen. So far, the tree swallows are also absent. Mr. perched on the post about 1pm, looked about for several minutes, dropped down to the top of the house, looked some more, then dropped to the perch on the front of the house. Very warily, he then leaned forward and, for barely a microsecond, poked his head into and out of the opening. He looked around again, then went in for another microsecond view. He repeated this a third time, then flew to the apple tree and then the wire.
The next morning (May 30), Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird were both here – and so was a tree swallow. By the 31st, the battle for the bird house was in full sway. At 10am, the tree swallow stuck his head out. At 1010, the bluebird approached and the swallow flew out at him. After five or ten seconds of very close order chasing, they fell to the ground for a few seconds of pecking and wing flapping, and then the bluebird flew away. On June 1st, the tree swallows seemed to have control over the bird house.
Sometimes the bluebirds win, sometimes the tree swallows win, and sometimes the house wrens win.
May & June 2011: Bluebirds Victorious
In 2011, the bluebirds won the house, but they continued to worry about intruders for another month:
May 7, 2011. Bluebirds were fighting off tree swallows at the Front House.
June 16, 2011. A chipmunk was trying to cross the lawn from the grunkle behind the bird house, but the manly bluebird didn’t want him to. Each time the chipmunk ventured forth, blueie swooped from his perch atop the Front House and buzzed the rodent, hovered, and buzzed him again until he scampered back to the weeds. This happened again and again, with the same result, until, on the tenth try, the chippie tore ass right out of the gate, ignored the dive-bomber, and continued at high speed to the safety of the driveway. The bluebird was so defensive, because its hatchlings were about ready to become fledglings – which happened on the next day.
May 2020: Tree Swallows Victorious
In early May 2020, a pair of tree swallows and an extra male were interested in the Front House:
May 7, 2020, 55 degrees, sunny. A pair of tree swallows are in the Front House. The female seems to like the house; she flies around for a while, then returns to perch on the post, once going in, but usually staying a few minutes before flying off. At first, a male was at the house with her; then he perched by the patio. A little later, a second male came in, and the three of them circled up, around, and over the houses – theirs, ours, and Sally’s on the other side of Post Road. I think the males were establishing dominance or demonstrating their maneuverability, while she circled somewhat apart, enjoying the spectacle as much as I did. However, three minutes was enough for this. She returned alone to her house, the males disappeared, and I returned to my coffee and my spelling bee.
A week later, the apartment was still available for rent, the tree swallows were still interested, but so was a bluebird:
May 13, 2020. Two pairs of tree swallows and a male bluebird checked out the Front Yard House today.
It was another week before the tree swallows decided to take possession:
May 16-17, 2020. Blackflies abound. Tree swallows are building a nest in the Front House.
Although they were no longer bothered by the bluebirds, the swallows remained wary of any potential competitors:
May 20, 2020, 74 degrees, breeze, no clouds, 3pm. A brown thrasher acted like a robin looking for worms and insects on the front lawn. After a couple of minutes, it was chased away by a swallow from the Front House.
I noted no further problems, and in another couple of weeks, the eggs were about to hatch:
June 2, 2020, partly cloudy, 65 degrees, no wind, 930-1000am. The tree swallows in the Dam House and the Front House seem to have eggs that have already hatched or are about to hatch.
2019 & 2012: House Wrens Victorious
If the bluebirds and tree swallows aren’t careful, a pair of house wrens may slip into one or more of the birdhouses. If they find an unoccupied house, they quickly stake their claim – by filling the house up with twigs! Since no self-respecting bluebird or tree swallow wants a living room filled with twigs, the wrens will retain custody:
May 5, 2019. The first wren was at the front-yard house. Two minutes later, a tree swallow flew high overhead before descending in a half-dozen ever lower and ever diminishing arcs, eventually landing on the wren’s house. The swallow just peaked in and then departed. Two minutes later, the wren returned, inserting one stick and then another, then disappearing for a half hour before coming back to resume building its nest.
In 2018, wrens settled for housing in the less respectable neighborhoods in the Upper or Lower Meadow, leaving the Front House to the tree swallows:
May 28, 2018, 75 degrees, 2pm. Tree swallows in the front house and the house at the end of the dam (“Far Dam House”); wrens in the “Fancy House” in the Upper Meadow and the house by the solar array (“Solar House”).
If you take off for a vacation or a visit with your family in early June, don’t be surprised if you find out that changes have taken place while you were gone. In 2012, after returning from some time in Indiana, we found that wrens had actually ended up in the Front House:
June 20, 2012, 90+ degrees. Disregard anything I said previously about the bluebirds defeating the tree swallows in their annual battle for the Front House. We returned from Indiana to find house wrens feeding their young in the oft-disputed house!
2005: Epic Battles for the Front House
We have had years when bluebirds, tree swallows, and wrens all tried to claim the Front House. Some of the battles were quite fierce, and the poor females have to worry about more than housekeeping. In 2005, they were all involved in battles for this prime location:
May 30, 2005, OK in morning; thunderstorm at 6pm. A couple of days ago, I saw the wren put a 4-inch stick in the front bird house, and I suspected that this act would be resented by the tree swallows who thought they owned this property. I was right. This morning, about 9am, the tree swallow had her head out of the house; the wren was on the nearby elm. Then the wren flew to the house, and it sang from a perch at the top of the pole, while the tree swallow remained inside. The wren then dropped to the roof, skipped forward to the edge, paused, then popped its head over for a millisecond glance at the front side of the bird house. It repeated this for the other three sides, then again at the front. After a third quick glance at the front suggested that there was indeed nothing to fear, it hopped to the entrance – whereupon the tree swallow chased it to the lilac and went after it three or four times before returning to the house. The wren at first just flew up to the elm, but soon thereafter it flew away.
The next day, the wren and the tree swallow continued their battle, with the same result. But that day involved more than turf battles. Just as it started to rain, about 2pm, the female tree swallow flew to the nice, red hummingbird-feeder by our porch. Mr. flew up and attempted to mount her; she turned to him, chastised him, and he flew away. But not for long. He soon tried again, only to be rebuffed once more, as she flew off with Mr. in hot pursuit.
My next note about the Front House came a month later. Apparently, the tree swallows eventually did what had to be done, allowing them to raise their family and enjoy their parental pleasure when the fledglings could fly off on their own. Would this result in another “Space War?”
June 22-24, 2005. A bluebird was checking out the front house on the 22nd, the same house where tree swallows had already raised a couple of kids and where the same or another pair had inspected the premises. On the 23rd, I cleaned out the old nest, figuring that might close the deal for someone. Almost immediately, a house wren showed up and took a look inside, but I think he resided in the Lower Meadow house.
This was the last mention of the Front House in my notes for that summer, so the house probably stayed empty until the following spring. That year, as in most years, the housing battles are over by the beginning of summer, and now the parents have to worry about feeding and protecting their fledglings, while at the same time teaching them the proper songs.
May 29, 2019. A tree swallow looks for insects flying over the pond from its perch just above the Far Dam House.
