🌿🌱🌍Wildlife and Conservation 🌍🌱🌿

The Conservation of wildlife is important to us here at the SWCC. Not only does it help support all life on Earth, but it also helps ensure that future generations can enjoy the environments in their natural state and the incredible species inhabiting our beautiful property. Conservation of wildlife promotes pollination in our prairie as well as protecting the ecological stability.

April Wildlife Highlights

Swallows 🐦

Say hello to our Swallow friends! Pictured left to right we have the Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, and Northern Rough-winged Swallow. They are due to migrate soon so be on the lookout for these beautiful birds.

*Photos from All About Birds

Barn Swallow:

The Barn Swallow can be seen as an aerial forager, they fly around, often close to the ground or waters, in search of different types of flying insects like flies, beetles, butterflies, and moths, among many others. They migrate and find a place to nest, often in eaves, rafters, cross beams of barns, sheds, stables, human-made structures, or even previous nests if they are not heavily infested with parasites. A pair of Barn Swallows will fly around until they have chosen their ideal nesting site for the season. They build nests mostly with mud, mixed with grass stems, however they are known to use discarded twine or fishing line if they find it so it is important to be mindful of Barn Swallows and other wildlife when discarding anything they might use to build nests with. 
Source: *Barn Swallow Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Tree Swallow:

Tree Swallows also prey on flying insects over open fields and different types of waters like lakes and ponds. They supplement their diets with different types of berries during the breeding season for extra calcium. You can find them nesting in natural tree cavities, old woodpecker cavities as well as nesting boxes. Females do most of the nesting, collecting grasses and other things found close to the nest and shores of water, laying the materials in the nest and then using her body to make the shape of a cup inside the cavity or box. They finish the nest off with feathers from other bird species collected by the male, although sometimes the male and female split the nest building tasks. They have many nest predators including chipmunks, mink, rat snakes, deer mice, and raccoons just to name a few. 
Source: *Tree Swallow Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Northern Rough-winged Swallow:

The Northern Rough-winged Swallow are a simple species, similar to the other swallows, they fly in open areas, searching for small flying insects and sometimes picking them up from the surface of the water too. They do tend to fly slower and they nest in burrows created by other animals like squirrels, kingfishers, and Bank Swallows, they usually choose a spot near to water. The male will perch near the nest to protect it from predators and other dangers during nesting and laying especially. The species is a less social one, but they still can be seen mixing with other Swallows. 
Source: *Northern Rough-winged Swallow Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Fun fact: Did you know all three species are what we call Aerial Insectivores? They all fly in search for their next meal; small insects, feeding on them while in the air.