hawkowl.blogspot.com
Every day on my way to and from work (my whopping 6 minute commute), I pass a grassy field that always has several Northern Rough-winged Swallows (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) zooming high and low catching insects in their acrobatic way. From my perspective of birding, this swallow is a rather under appreciated member of its family. It’s easily overshadowed by the shiny Tree and Violet-green Swallows and the colorful Barn, Cave, and Cliff Swallows. It’s even slightly overshadowed by the it’s slightly more well-marked cousin, the Bank Swallow.
The Northern Rough-winged Swallow is a small, brown swallow with dull to creamy white plumage below. It’s head, chest, sides, and flanks are grayish-brown. The throat is usually paler and the tail is square. Its name comes from the rough edge to the outer wing feathers. When Audubon first found this bird, he thought he had found a Bank Swallow. He noticed the rough wing feathers and gave it the common name it now has.
It can be difficult to separate Rough-wingeds from the other brown-backed swallows. It’s similar in flight to the Bank Swallow, but can be easily separated when perched. The Bank Swallow has a distinct brown breast band. Young Tree Swallows also look similar, but are dull white below with a smudgy brown breast band. “The tone of the upperparts is helpful on flying birds. Young Tree Swallows are usually a grayer shade of brown than Bank or Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Bank Swallows often look paler on the lower back and rump, which contrasts with dark wings. Northern Rough-wings tend to look uniformly brown above.” (Thanks to Mark Johns)
Northern Rough-winged Swallows are found across the US and into southern Canada in summer, but winter along the Gulf Coast and in Central America. During the breeding season, they usually nest in river banks, railroad embankments, gravel pits, and sometimes even in drainpipes and old Kingfisher nests. They feed while on the wing, dining on a variety of insects including wasps, beetles, and mosquitos. Lucky for us, these swallows are doing well in the US. So, next time you see one of these guys zoom by you, give it a second glance and appreciate its subtle beauty.
On another note, the Northern Rough-winged Swallow has a southern relative named… wait for it… the Southern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx ruficollis). This was actually the first life bird I got in Costa Rica as one zipped by our bus as we pulled out of the airport. Its slightly more colorful than its northern cousin, but similarly rough-winged.
September 5th, 2006
Gloucester Daily Times - Aug 23 6:41 AM
Gloucester Daily Times
PLUM ISLAND - The sign leading into the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge tells the story of swarms of swallows stopping here to eat up the plentiful moths, spiders and mosquitoes.
On a simple white marker board with a drawing of a swallow-like bird, it asks visitors to drive slowly through the refuge to avoid hurting or killing swallows. “Please drive slowly,” it reads, “Tree swallows in road.”
In fact, the swallows, tens of thousands of them, aren’t just in the road at the refuge: they’re everywhere.
David Larson, the education coordinator at Massachusetts Audubon’s Joppa Flats, said the swallows - up to four species of them - are stopping on the island as they prepare for their journey south. He said they will fatten up by eating insects and bayberries.
Larson said the birds eat bayberries, which are used to make candles, and turn the wax into much needed fat.
“It’s all about food when you’re migrating and getting enough food to go long distances,” he said. “That’s what their up to.”
Depending on the time of day or one’s luck, the island could provide a glimpse of hundreds or even thousands of birds flying overhead, feeding on gnats, mosquitoes and other insects.
“It is really quite spectacular,” Larson said. “I am sure there are undoubtedly many tens of thousands of swallows there.”
He said the birds have been roosting in the evenings, when they don’t hunt for insects to eat, in the north pool area in the brackish water marsh on the refuge.
Yesterday afternoon Barbara Roggeveen of Needham was with friends at the Hellcat section of the refuge with binoculars around her neck looking for birds on the island. One bird she had no problem finding, she said, were the tree swallows.
“As we drove in, they were just all over the place,” she said.
The swallows willuse the island as a migrating pit stop for the next several weeks, probably into the first week of September, Larson said.
Graham Taylor, the refuge manager, said observing the birds on the island is an “amazing sight.”
“It is a truly extraordinary event to see thousands and thousands of these birds swirling around and feeding as they make their way south for the winter,” he said. “It is a constant stream of birds passing through the area.”
Calvin and Loretta Louks of Salem, N.H., have also been soaking in the migration.
Yesterday afternoon, while sitting in their car and peering out over the salt marsh, they recounted the experience with the birds they saw late last week. They said it was mid afternoon Friday, just after lunch, when they saw hundreds of the swallows on the refuge.
“It was remarkable to see the number of birds coming through,” Calvin Louks said. “They just kept coming in waves and waves.”
Jennifer McQueen of South Africa was with Roggeveen at the refuge yesterday looking at many birds which she cannot find in her home country. She pointed out that this is just the beginning of the season when birds collect food in preparation for migration, which gives other birders the opportunity to see the huge flocks starting their journeys from Plum Island.
“It’s been just the start of the collecting,” she said.
It is really quite spectacular,” Larson said. “I am sure there are undoubtedly many tens of thousands of swallows there.”
He said the birds have been roosting in the evenings, when they don’t hunt for insects to eat, in the north pool area in the brackish water marsh on the refuge.
Yesterday afternoon Barbara Roggeveen of Needham was with friends at the Hellcat section of the refuge with binoculars around her neck looking for birds on the island. One bird she had no problem finding, she said, were the tree swallows.
“As we drove in, they were just all over the place,” she said.
The swallows willuse the island as a migrating pit stop for the next several weeks, probably into the first week of September, Larson said.
Graham Taylor, the refuge manager, said observing the birds on the island is an “amazing sight.”
“It is a truly extraordinary event to see thousands and thousands of these birds swirling around and feeding as they make their way south for the winter,” he said. “It is a constant stream of birds passing through the area.”
Calvin and Loretta Louks of Salem, N.H., have also been soaking in the migration.
Yesterday afternoon, while sitting in their car and peering out over the salt marsh, they recounted the experience with the birds they saw late last week. They said it was mid afternoon Friday, just after lunch, when they saw hundreds of the swallows on the refuge.
“It was remarkable to see the number of birds coming through,” Calvin Louks said. “They just kept coming in waves and waves.”
Jennifer McQueen of South Africa was with Roggeveen at the refuge yesterday looking at many birds which she cannot find in her home country. She pointed out that this is just the beginning of the season when birds collect food in preparation for migration, which gives other birders the opportunity to see the huge flocks starting their journeys from Plum Island.
“It’s been just the start of the collecting,” she said.
   Â
September 5th, 2006