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Niles Daily Star, MI – Mar 22, 2014

Thursday, March 22, 2014 10:32 AM EDT

It happens to me every year. I have great intentions of getting my bird houses in tip top shape, however, as spring starts to creep in, there always seems to be more immediate projects.

I assure myself that the weather is still too nasty for birds to start housekeeping but then all of a sudden, it’s too late. They’ve either shunned my unkempt houses or, worse yet, moved in to ones that are so ill prepared that death to the babies is imminent. Birds are on a tight schedule and don’t wait for nice weather to do their thing.
Read more about Column: Predator guards critical for bird nest boxes …

kitsapsun.com
By Joan Carson
April 1, 2014

“That corner on the barn’s lean-to looks like a good place to put up a swallow house.” That observation was made as my spouse and I sat in the living room. For whatever reason, the view from one window made the barn and its attached structure stand out.

A birdhouse would face northwest, but it would receive sunshine most of the day. The area surrounding it was open, not closed in by trees or other buildings. This would allow the swallows to make their swift approach to the house without any interference.
There was a time when putting up a house for swallows was simple. That isn’t always the case anymore. Four swallow species will nest in man-made nest boxes or on structures built for human use. Barn swallows nest in barns, carports, garages, gazeboes and other outbuildings. Tree swallows and violet-greens nest in birdhouses. Purple martins use artificial gourds and nest boxes.

This column is primarily on the violet-green swallow because of two letters. One was from a reader who wanted to put up the correct house for violet-greens. The other was from a reader who had a helpful hint to pass on to anyone constructing that house.
Read more about The Bird Lady: Swallows are not a like in home choices …

wildasia.net/main/article contributed by Reza Azmi Gomantong Hill is the largest limestone outcrop in the Lower Kinabatangan area, and contains at least nine caves. For centuries, the Gomantong Caves have been renowned for the valuable edible birds’ nests made by two of the four species of swiftlets that roost in the caves. During the harvesting months, […]

ecologyasia.com/news-archives KUCHING: Sarawak has recorded a sharp increase in the population of wild swiftlets following the implementation of a sustainable management plan by the Forest Department for the harvesting of bird’s nest.  Researcher Dr Lim Chan Koon said the number of white-nest swiftlets in a cave in middle Baram, northern Sarawak, had shot up to […]

bayanihan.org/html/article PUERTO PRINCESA CITY – Armed elements of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and the Philippine Navy (PN), together with the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), raided the Elephant Island here Saturday and arrested about 70 edible bird’s nest gatherers and watchers. The 70 gatherers and watchers were taken to […]

timesonline.co.uk
Chris Ayres in Los Angeles
A Californian condor has laid an egg in Mexico for the first time since the 1930s, with scientists watching like hawks in the hope that it will hatch any day.

The birth of a condor, one of the largest species of birds on Earth and featured on the coats of arms of several South American countries, would help to reintroduce the massive scavengers to the skies of Mexico several decades after being wiped out there.
Read more about Scientists wait at rare bird’s nest for that condor moment …

sciencedaily.com In the classic debate of nature versus nurture, University of Tulsa researchers Charles and Mary Brown have scored one for heredity — at least when it comes to cliff swallows. The Browns say their study shows that genes guide cliff swallows when they select the size of colony in which to live. They say […]

g.webring.com Bird’s Nest is rare and so expensive that only wealthy people can consume it. Many people know that it’s a “cold food” because it has a cooling effect when you consume it. In Chinese they called it “Yin”. Bird’s nest is produced by swiftlets. These birds are from the same family as the common […]

Chicago Daily Southtown, IL – Mar 28, 2014
March 28, 2014

The issue: New report says cost to repair the shuttered Cook County toboggan slides has increased dramatically.

We say: The forest preserve district must study all of its options and find a way to reopen the slides. Despite the report’s gloominess, it appears there are several practical alternatives. The slides — particularly Swallow Cliff — are too valuable an asset to remain closed.

Trying to reopen the popular Swallow Cliff toboggan slides in Palos Township has been an uphill battle. But we’re not giving up the fight, and it’s good to see the local Cook County commissioner, Elizaeth Doody Gorman, isn’t either.

The latest development concerning the slides’ fate occurred last week when a new report showed that fixing and reopening Swallow Cliff and the county’s other slides would cost $3.7 million. That’s $2.2 million more than previously had been estimated.
Read more about The fight to reopen Swallow Cliff slides must continue …