Along with the warm weather one of our favorite spring migrants, the Tree Swallow, has returned to the Meadowlands for the spring nesting season. Dennis Cheeseman got this great shot of the small, magnetic-blue bird at DeKorte Park earlier today.

Tree Swallows migrate to the Meadowlands by the hundreds every spring and our naturalists are busy installing dozens of nesting boxes around the park and in areas along the Hackensack River. The Tree Swallow is a secondary cavity nester, which means it must have the use of dead trees to nest in, and it must have a hole that has been excavated by a primary cavity nester.  Loss of habitat and competition for nest sites from other bird species are part of the reason why we provide these vital nest boxes for these beautiful birds.