More Tree Swallow Boxes Installed! -- April 4, 2023

Bruce Wilkinson and I installed an additional 12 Tree Swallow nest boxes in the field today. This was made possible by the generous donation of some of our Facebook friends and the Technical Trades department of Humber College. At no cost to FOSS, Humber College originally built 20 boxes for us - 3 replaced rotted out ones in the field and 5 have been reserved for future replacement due to vandalism or theft. We now have a total of 80 boxes in the park that FOSS volunteers monitor and manage - 75 in the Swallow Field and 5 west of the Yacht Club that were installed by TRCA for us. The field is now or will soon be at capacity. IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE THAT BOXES ARE NOT OPENED BEFORE CRUCIAL SWALLOW POPULATION TIPPING POINTS HAVE BEEN REACHED. We have a few years experience now with this method of deterring House Sparrows and, by monitoring daily, we will know the right moments to open the field in stages for the swallows. We observed 5 swallows circling the field today. They looked happy as they watched us at our work. Many, many more will arrive in the next week or two.