Last October (2020), the small pumphouse that was located at the south end of Duck Lake was removed, as part of an upgrade to the water level management infrastructure on CVWMA. For several years, Cliff Swallows nested under the eaves around the roof of the pumphouse, especially on the east facing aspect.
During the past months, our Habitat and Wildlife Operations Technician researched options to replace the “old pumphouse” nesting features and spent several hours building a new modular structure that will hopefully fulfill the nesting requirements for the Cliff Swallows. We assemble all the parts of the new structure on March 17th, at the same location where the pumphouse stood and now we just need to wait and see if the birds like it! Cliff Swallows return from their southern overwintering grounds as early as mid-April, and start nesting in mid- to late May.
The new structure is entirely made of wood and offers ample space for the swallows to build their nests. The thick wooden beams and roof/eave structure should provide enough insulation so that chicks in the nests do not overheat. The beams have been textured and roughened-up to provide better anchoring support for the nest to be built on. There are two "wings" to the structure to offer a variety of nesting aspects for the birds.
Some modifications may yet be made to the structure to further improve it in the future as we see how it’s being used by the swallows.
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