Author: Swallow Bird Nest

Nantucket Independent, MA – 22 hours ago
by Kenneth Turner Blackshaw
This week’s bird, like last week’s, has greatly benefited from its association with humans but, unlike the Rock Pigeon, has done so without having its reputation soiled. Truly, almost everyone loves swallows. This is the national bird of Estonia, representing clear blue sky and happiness!
Read more about BIRDS OF NANTUCKET ,THE SWALLOW AND THE QUAGGA …

By Dolores Harrington
Published: Friday, March 23, 2007 2:20 PM CDT
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The first hummingbird in our area was reported last Sunday by Betty Smart at Gurdon. She had an adult male ruby-throated hummingbird at a feeder that morning.

It took a bit longer for the little birds to get to Arkadelphia, I guess. I got a call from Milrene Copeland Wednesday morning, and she had seen a hummingbird. By the time I got home from work, there was one at my feeder. All those birds were adult males; they usually arrive ahead of the females.

The only swallow I had seen until last Saturday was a northern rough-winged swallow Saturday before last. I was sure we would find barn swallows last weekend, and we did. Two were perched on a wire along Lakeview Road. There weren’t any swallows at the oxidation ponds, which was surprising.

Renn Tumlison sent me some silhouettes of barn swallows he has shot on Monday (see photo), and his “Nature Trivia” column on Tuesday was about anticipating the arrival of cliff swallows. He e-mailed me Wednesday to report that he had observed cliff swallows involved in nesting behavior in Southwest Arkansas that morning. That is a little earlier than usual, but we have had very warm weather for most of this month.

I hope to have time to look for cliff swallows in this area over the weekend. They have been nesting around here for only a few years, but I see them at the Ouachita River bridge each summer now.

Cliff swallows do not have long swallow tails like the barn swallows, but they have buffy rumps, which is one good identifying mark. The only other swallow with a buffy rump is the cave swallow. So far only one record for that species has been accepted for Arkansas, but they are expanding their range. It’s possible that we will have to be more careful about separating the two species in the future.

The cliff and cave swallows are very similar, and the immature birds are very difficult to tell apart. If we begin to see more cave swallows in the state, I’ll tell you more about the differences in the two species.

I’m watching the parking lot at the office for the northern rough-winged swallows. We’ve had nesting birds in the roof of the loading dock for the last few years, and I expect them to return this year.
Read more about For the Birds: Season's first hummingbird seen …

The Chattanoogan, TN – Apr 4, 2007
Charles and Dreama Dean
posted April 4, 2007
With a total of 122 votes in the public web poll posted here on Chattanoogan.com Outdoors, an overwhlming 51% selected “Wind Beneath My Wings” as the best out of ten entries.

Some of the voters commented, “Awesome pictures,” “They were all so good. Congratulations to the photographers. ,” “Thanks for letting the public vote,” “Great pictures,” “Super,” “All pictures were great,” and finally, “I went with Timber-r-r-r- because the name Wind Beneath My Wings makes me think of a song I do not like .”

You can view all of the entries here.

Harold Sharp says “If you would like to view these beautiful birds up close, drive up Amnicola Highway, turn toward the Election Headquarters building at the red light, turn right at the first intersection then right again on the first road, go into the Riverwalk Parking lot at south end of Amnicola Marsh. Look for a bluebird box on your left and another one on your right in the cul-d-sac, both boxes have Tree Swallow nest. This is where the photo was made. You should see the Tree Swallows near these boxes.
Read more about Tree Swallows Win March "Shot of the Month" …

Visalia Times-Delta, CA – 14 hours ago
Every year about this time swallows return to the Central Valley. These birds spend winter months in South America, and then as spring draws near they begin a northward migration through Central America and Mexico in order to spend summer months in North America.

The first migrants appear in southern California in late February, arrive like clockwork at the Mission in San Juan Capistrano on March 19 and a few weeks later they’re in the Valley.
Swallows, particularly cliff swallows, often live in close proximity to people. They feed on insects and spend a large part of each day in the air catching flies, beetles, and mosquitoes. Their long, pointed wings give them great speed and maneuverability. The cliff swallow is about 6 inches long and is the only square-tailed swallow in California.

In contrast, the barn swallow is distinguished by its long, deeply forked tail. The cliff swallow is also recognized by its pale, orange-brown rump, white forehead, dark rust-colored throat and steel-blue crown and back.
While enjoyable to watch, cliff swallows nesting in colonies on buildings and other structures can become a nuisance. Their droppings create aesthetic problems, foul machinery and cause potential health hazards by contamination.
Read more about Birds' nesting spots can be hard to swallow …

The Courier News, IL – Apr 7, 2007 April 7, 2007 By Gretchen Mckay Pittsburgh Post-Gazette For many families, Easter is not just a joyous religious holiday — it’s also a time to celebrate the coming of spring. We like to usher in the season at the dinner table with special foods we haven’t had […]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO – Apr 8, 2007
By Aisha Sultan
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
With a bucket of thawed crickets and a bowl of mealworms next to him, John Miller cautiously opens a small door on the three-story white birdhouse in Forest Park.

He clears out a space next to the nests inside and inserts a mix of the bugs and worms. It may be the only meal the dozen purple martins flying overhead get for days.

The area’s five-day cold snap, which should warm up to the 50s today, could devastate the city’s tiny population of this species of swallow.
Miller is determined to save them.
ike a parent coaxing a toddler to eat, he has tried every trick to help the birds survive, including flipping dead crickets in the air with a large plastic spoon for the high-soaring birds that feed on insects they catch while flying. But the purple martin is a picky eater.

The wild birds depend on man-made housing structures set up and maintained by bird-loving “landlords” such as Miller. More than a million people in North America try to lure these birds to such housing, yet few take up residence. Once purple martins establish a home here, however, the migrating birds return to that exact spot, from as far away as Central and South America. They begin arriving in St. Louis in early March.

Miller, who lives by himself in Brentwood, has been anxious during the recent cold spell. He worries about a potential die-off, in which the city’s entire population of about 100 or so purple martins could disappear.

Enthusiasts describe the birds as giddy — almost as if they are dancing in the air — and chirping excitedly when they come home. The adult male looks nearly black until sunlight catches glints of the purplish-blue feathers on its body. There’s something enchanting about them, Miller said.

Nearly every day, he jogs by the birdhouses he helped establish in Forest Park. Some of the regulars know him as the “bird guy.” During questionable weather, he checks and feeds the established colonies daily.

On Sunday, Miller carried a ladder, a bucket of worms and an empty shoebox on his rounds. He planned to take home any dead or disabled purple martin he encountered. Miller took a deep breath before lowering the housing from its perch on the 40-foot pole.

“It’s a hobby that can lift your heart — and break it.”

Don Ruis, 46, of Dardenne Prairie, knows that heartache. He has cared for a colony of 22 pairs in his backyard for five years. He keeps a supply of frozen crickets in the freezer for emergencies. But a stretch of rainy and windy days last May caught him off guard.

He saw a bird fall to the ground that looked like one from the colony. When he went outside, Ruis found nine dead birds on the ground. There were seven more dead inside the gourds.

“We lost almost our whole colony,” he said. “It was very depressing.”

The day before he discovered the bodies, two purple martins perched right outside his house and looked in the window.

“It was like they were trying to tell me something’s wrong,” Ruis said.

This time, he has spent the freezing days outside flipping crickets to the birds until they caught on and started feeding on them. He has also stuffed their living quarters with extra bugs since Wednesday.

Not everyone agrees with these tactics, Miller said. Some feel that nature ought to take its course. But Miller feels a sense of responsibility to care for the birds that over generations have come to rely on humans.
Read more about Unusual cold weather brings purple martin crusade …

Niles Daily Star, MI – Mar 22, 2007

Thursday, March 22, 2007 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, 2007

“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 …

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 …

Chicago Daily Southtown, IL – Mar 28, 2007
March 28, 2007

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 …