Today's Star has an article on a recent study on the state of birds in Canada Last night we came home to see that our Barn Swallow nest had been destroyed and there was evidence of feathers around the broken nest. We checked on the five babies only a few days ago and they were very close to being ready to fledge. I am heart broken to report that the evidence leads us to conclude the babies did not survive the attack. I am guessing a raccoon somehow managed to get to the nest, but I am not sure how it would have managed to do so. The Barn Swallows have used this spot in the past and it has been safe from predators. The adult pair was still around and giving their warning calls. I can't imagine how awful it was for them to witness the attack and be relatively helpless in defending their young. This is very discouraging. On a positive note, our Tree Swallows and Bluebirds have fledged successfully. Hopefully both sets of parents will give it another go. The House Wrens are still busy going in and out of the box. As for our Bobolinks, the farmers have been cutting their fields very early (so it seems to me). Most of the potential nesting grounds have already been cut. We went out on Sunday and saw/heard many out in the fields. Last night we did a check and at least three of the fields have been cut. I highly doubt there was time for any eggs to hatch. Overall, I'm feeling quite a bit down this morning. It feels like the birds are fighting a losing battle. I have to remind myself of the nesting success stories and be hopeful that the areas that are currently protected will remain so.