Category: Articles

21 FEB

Barn Swallows: Recognizing and Attracting These Graceful Birds


associatedcontent.com
By D. Miller
The barn swallow, or Hirundo rustica, is an amazing bird to watch. These little birds travel a long distance in their six to eight years of life. These birds are found all over the world, except for Australia. The interesting thing about barn swallows is that they nest in large colonies. If you live near an open field or on the countryside, chances are you can easily attract these amazing birds. We have barn swallows that nest on our front porch every year. Watching these birds is a true delight.
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20 FEB

Cliff & Barn Swallows (Hirundo pyrrhonota, Hirundo rustica)

azwns.com/Swallow Information These slender, sleek birds are well known for their long migration and nesting habits. Cliff and barn swallows spend their winters in South America and summers in North America. They arrive around March in the southern part of the country, reaching the northern states in April. They are very territorial and will always […]

20 FEB

Study: Global warming does affect birds, but forecasting its impact will be more difficult

news.cornell.edu/ By Roger Segelken Earlier springs with warmer temperatures over the past 30 years have prompted a ubiquitous North American bird species, tree swallows, to begin laying eggs, on average, a week or more earlier. But whether these harbingers of global warming are being adversely affected by changing weather patterns isn’t clear, biologists in New […]

19 FEB

Hang a Nesting Box for Birds


Learn the Important Features of a Nesting Box That Will Attract Nesting Birds to Your Yard
© Rosemary Drisdelle
A nesting box has to be right for the bird. Choose a local bird, check box dimensions, hole size and position, and select an appropriate location for a perfect fit.

In the spring, a bird’s thoughts turn to nesting; you can help the birds and improve your backyard bird habitat by providing a bird house, or nesting box. Don’t just hang any old box with a hole in it up in a tree, however: you’ll need to place the right kind of nesting box, for the right kind of bird, in the right place. Birds can be fussy about bird house design; if you want the Yellow-shafted Flicker that hunts ants on your lawn to nest in your trees, a nest box designed for Black-capped Chickadees isn’t going to work.

First, choose the right bird. What birds frequent feeders or other food sources on your property? The birds that already visit are the ones most likely to check into a nesting box. If you want to attract new birds to your property, think about the geography nearby: if you have a lake within 3.25 km (2 miles) of your home, putting up Tree Swallow nesting boxes might bring them.
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19 FEB

Unusual pre-roosting behaviour of Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica during autumn migration


Revista Catalana d’Ornitologia 22:40-42, 2006
migration Òscar Gordo

The abnormal behaviour of a group of Barn Swallows roosting in a maize field is described in detail. Approximately 700 individuals forming a spherical flock performed spectacular manoeuvres over a maize field for several minutes.
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17 FEB

Tree swallow youngsters take flight from nest

bangornews.com/news Woodpecker, sparrow fledgings grow stronger You may recall last week’s column about the tree swallow nestlings in my yard. At the time, I was sure they were close to fledging, and this turned out to be correct. One day soon after, I heard excited, intense calls, and looked out to see three birds flying […]

16 FEB

Looks matter to female barn swallows

eurekalert.org ITHACA, N.Y. — Even after they have paired with a male, the female North American barn swallow still comparison-shops for sexual partners. And forget personality; the females judge males by their looks — the reddish color of the males’ breast and belly feathers. If the male’s red breast is not as dark as other […]

16 FEB

Chinese Recipes

Edible Bird’s Nest globalfoodideas.com/ChineseRecipes Ingredients 2 medium white thin-skinned potatoes, peeled and shredded lengthwise (2 cups) 1 Tbsp. cornstarch 1/2 Tbsp. salt Vegetable oil (To determine amount of oil to use, place an empty sieve in wok, then pour enough oil to cover at least 3/4 of the sieve.) Directions Squeeze potato shreds to remove […]