| Environmental Columns
Tree swallows in Pointe-Claire
Last summer, tree swallow eggs hatched in a purple martin nest box in Edgewater Park. As the name implies, this bird uses trees for nesting, but can also benefit from artificial nest boxes. Tree swallows are highly social, meaning they do not fear humans. They form large migratory flocks and nest close to each other.
Several days after hatching, the nestlings were banded according to the protocol set forth by the North American Banding Council. This painless procedure consists of attaching a small metal band with an identification number to a leg in order to study habits of this species.
The tree swallow is a species in decline due to habitat loss, as well as insecticides and pesticides contaminating its food sources (insects, spiders, snails and water).
The McGill Bird Observatory is in charge of studying the tree swallows in Pointe-Claire. The observatory is part of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (CMMN), which studies bird ecology and migration in Canada in order to improve conservation efforts.
- A purple martin nest box in Edgewater Park
- The nestlings a few days after they hatched.
- An expert holds a weeks-old nestling to attach an identification band.
For more information on this topic, you can consult the following sites:
https://www.birdscanada.org/volunteer/cmmn/
References
https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/treswa/introduction
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tree_Swallow/lifehistory#