Archive for July, 2007
When migrating swallows turned her house and barn into a home from home, Vivien Reynolds thought she had hit upon the ideal deterrent.
She placed a model of a giant eagle owl high up in the barn, hoping the plastic predator’s golden eyes and sharp talons would scare off the birds.
Sadly, the swallows had other ideas. After two days eyeing up Ollie, the fake 3ft owl, a pair of the birds settled on its head.
They then built a nest out of mud and twigs - where they are now raising a family of five hungry chicks.
The swallows arrive every April after making a 6,000-mile trip from South Africa, where they spend the winter.
Mrs Reynolds, 58, of South Hams, Devon, said: “My husband and I adore the swallows and when they arrive we have them absolutely everywhere.
“But this year we needed some extra storage space in the barn so we put the owl in there to scare them off.
“Unfortunately it took the swallows about two days to work out it wasn’t hostile.”
Mrs Reynolds has resigned herself to waiting until the birds leave to reclaim her space.
July 31st, 2007
CBC New Brunswick, Canada - Jul 27, 2007
Last Updated: Friday, July 27, 2007 | 9:15 AM AT
CBC News
A new survey of birds in the Maritimes is already showing some disturbing results, as biologists are finding some species appear to be in decline.
Researchers are only a year and a half into the five-year research period for the Maritime breeding bird atlas, which measures the abundance of breeding birds in the region.
It’s already apparent numbers for bobolinks in the region are down, as are some species of swallow, according to Fredericton biologist Scott Makepeace.
“Especially the barn swallows and cliff swallows, they’ve significantly declined,” Makepeace said Monday.
However, Makepeace notes the number of pine warblers and northern cardinals is up.
When the study is finished, the information will help to determine which species are in trouble, and then help to set rules about land use.
July 30th, 2007
commercialappeal.com (subscription), TN - Jun 28, 2007
By Van Harris
Special to The Commercial Appeal
June 29, 2007
I have noticed a lot of discussion on the Internet and with people I meet regarding recent news from the National Audubon Society about changes in North American bird populations during the past 40 years.
The organization noted drastic declines in populations of the northern bobwhite (82 percent, evening grosbeak (78 percent), northern pintail (77 percent) and greater scaup (75 percen
The usual culprits are blamed: Illegal mining and logging in the boreal forests of northern Canada, urban sprawl, pollution and global warming. It is of note that six of the top 10 decliners (northern bobwhite, northern pintail, eastern meadowlark, loggerhead shrike, field sparrow and grasshopper sparrow) are primarily birds of grasslands. The push for biofuels, with $4 per bushel corn and $8.50 per bushel soybeans, is causing farmers to convert grassy fields from cattle grazing to row crops.
Especially damaging is the destruction of overgrown fence rows, which provide the cover and nest sites for shrikes and bobwhite. (The only argument my father and I ever had about the management of our farm was when he had a fence row bulldozed.)
While these declines are deeply concerning, it is notable that none of the species is in any way in danger of extinction. The evening grosbeak, for instance, was quite a rare bird in the 19th century. According to the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, it experienced a population increase beginning in the 1950s, which became an explosion in the 1970s and ’80s and has now reverted to historical levels.
Grassland species were probably never numerous before European settlement converted much of eastern North America from hardwood forest to grass pasture and cropland.
An article titled “Accidental Good Deeds” by Kenn Kaufman in the July/August issue of Bird Watcher’s Digest puts much of this in perspective. Kaufman notes that species of the swallow family especially have done quite nicely since Europeans began altering their habitats.
The process began with Native Americans, who provided purple martins with gourds in which to nest in hopes the birds would control mosquitoes near their lodges. It is now unlikely that purple martins in eastern North America nest anywhere except in manmade structures.
Barn and cliff swallows have also benefited. Barn swallows once had to search hard for spots to build nests; ledges under sheltering rock overhangs.
Now they use every kind of structure imaginable. Kaufman notes that in four decades of bird watching all over the world he has never seen a barn swallow nest not on a manmade structure.
I have seen cliff swallow nests under rock overhangs on cliffs along the Snake River in Idaho. I have seen hundreds more under a highway bridge over the Tenn-Tom Waterway in North Mississippi. Cliff swallows attach their mud nests to vertical rough walls with surfaces sufficiently rough to hold them. Concrete bridges provide such surfaces and sheltering overhangs that prevent rain from washing them away. Bridges cross water, which provides the mud the swallows need to build the nests.
Even more dramatic has been the expansion in range and population of the cave swallow. Forty years ago, this species nested only in the shadow zone of Carlsbad Caverns, N.M., and a few caves in Texas. In the 1970s, it began showing up near bridges, particularly the box culvert type, in eastern New Mexico and Texas. By 1990, it had followed Interstate 10 almost to Louisiana.
Errant individuals have shown up as far east and north as New England.
Eventually, it will almost certainly use box culverts and bridges to extend their range into the Mid-South.
There is a lot that can be done to slow or reverse the decline noted in the State of the Birds report.
It is also important to remember that bird populations are naturally dynamic, not static.
Also, not all manmade changes in the environment are necessarily bad for birds.
Meanwhile, I need to go plant a fence row.
Van Harris is past president of the Memphis chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society. E-mail him: shelbyforester1223@ earthlink.net.
July 27th, 2007
Epoch Times, NY - Jul 4, 2007
By Ron Haering
Special to The Epoch Times
The city of Khota Bharu in far north-east Malaysia is literally going to the birds ï or more precisely, bird’s nest soup. Over two hundred buildings, some seven stories high, have been converted into giant open aviaries to service the lucrative business of farming edible swiftlet nests ï renowned in Chinese culture for their health benefits.
The shallow, cup-shaped white nests are made of woven strands of saliva stuck to the dark interior building walls. Once the nests have been dislodged, they are soaked and boiled in water and cleaned of impurities. At this stage, the brittle nest has become a translucent gelatinous mass ready for consumption ï usually in a clear chicken consommĂ© thickened with cornstarch and garnished with chopped chicken, pork and an array of other medicinal ingredients.
The taste is bland, but daily consumption of bird’s nest soup is said to enhance virility, aid digestion and boost the immune system. Some believe it will also improve their voice, but after hearing these birds, I feel the same effect could be achieved by inhaling a helium balloon!
The city centre is a cacophony of sound and frenzied aerial movement as clouds of swiflets seek mates above their artificial homes, which are adorned with modified porthole windows and barbed wire edges. Rooftop loudspeakers attempt to lure rival birds with recorded bird calls, as security guards pace the perimeter of each building seeking to protect the nests, and the owner’s considerable income, from unwanted intruders.
These small, energetic birds are endemic to the Asian tropics. With over-exploitation, increasing disturbance and loss of their traditional cave habitats, particularly in Sumatra to the south, swiflets are seeking alternative nest sites in unusual places. Khota Bharu, with its proximity to the river and adjacent rice paddies that provide abundant insect food, is an ideal place to call home.
A big building, such as the converted hotel I’m currently looking at, can yield 60 kilograms of birds’ nests a year (that’s 4800 individual nests). Farmers coax the birds into making at least two nests each season, with the first one taken before eggs are laid and the second after the baby birds have fledged. This many nests can fetch up to $100,000, all with minimal overheads and no customer service required!
July 26th, 2007
Dunn County News, WI - Jul 23, 2007
By Dennis Weibel, Red Cedar Notebook
Last month, millions of people from around the world took part in the Internet vote to name seven new âWonders of the World.â It seems that some folks were disappointed that only one of the original wonders was still in existence. They longed for a new list of wondrous architectural achievements, ones that could be viewed and visited in the 21st century.
I have long been an admirer of human architecture, from the stunning brilliance of St. Peterâs Basilica in Rome to the stoic grandeur of our very own Mabel Tainter Memorial Building, but I also marvel at the constructions of other animals. For thousands of years, animals have used residential materials, anatomical adaptations and a bit of ingenuity to build marvelous structures, from beehives to beaver dams.
Engineering marvels
One such construction is the mud nest of the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota). Examples of these can be found under the bridges that span the Red Cedar River and trail. My favorite spot to observe both the nests â and the birds that built them â is from the Red Cedar State Trail underpass at Irvington.
The swallows, themselves, are easy to see. They continuously swoop through the air in eye-straining patterns, rarely pausing to perch. Most often, they appear to be dark brown, but with just the right light and angle of view, the iridescent blue-gray feathers on their crowns and shoulders glimmer and catch the eye. Cliff swallows have a squared-off tail and a pale orange rump patch, features that distinguish them from other swallows found in Dunn County.
These swallows prefer life in a colony, rarely constructing a solitary nest. You can easily spot their numerous, conical, gourd-like nests plastered to the underside of the bridge. They are made out of mud pellets, carefully carried to the site in the beaks of swallows.
Frequent flyers
This past spring, I watched newly-returned cliff swallows congregate on the mud flats just south of the bridge. Scores of birds scooped up beakfuls of mud, flew to the bridge, deposited the mud pellets and flew back. They repeated the process over and over and over. The average nest contains 1,000 to 1,400 mud pellets, or trips from mudflat to bridge.
A few lucky swallows avoid this tedium altogether. They migrate back early to take up residence in one of the previous yearâs nest, having to make only minor repairs. In this situation, the early bird truly does âcatch the worm.â
Upon completion of repairs or construction, the nests are lovingly lined with grass and feathers. The female then lays four to five eggs.
My very rough count of nests stuck to the four large I-beams that support the Irvington Bridge comes to about 200. With four eggs per nest, there were, at one time, possibly a whopping 800 eggs waiting to hatch.
Safety in numbers
Bob and Mary Brown from the University of Tulsa have spent 20 years observing and studying cliff swallow colonies. They have determined that there is safety in such large numbers. The massive volume of eggs and nestlings tends to overwhelm predators and dilutes predation of the young. (If you wish to learn more of the Brownâs research, visit their Web site at: www.bio.utulsa.edu/Brown.htm.)
If you visit the bridge anytime soon, the plaintiff cries of hungry babies will tell you that the eggs have hatched.
Feeding these newly-hatched nestlings is a monumental task. Cliff swallows dine exclusively on insects, favoring flies, beetles and mosquitoes. Their long, pointed wings allow for quick, maneuverable flight, handy for chasing tiny insects in mid-flight.
Air traffic
Each day, the adults make thousands of forays, ceaselessly catching insects and depositing them into small gaping mouths. With some 800 mouths to feed, flights in and out of the Irvington Bridge rival those at OâHare International, with nary an air traffic controller in sight.
The multitude of young cliff swallows will likely fledge (take flight for the first time) in the next few days. When they do, they will congregate in large groups called crĂšches.
The adults will continue to feed the young throughout this period. Imagine, if you will, the dilemma of flying up to a crĂšche of 50-60 juvenile birds, mosquito in beak, and trying to locate that sweet little face you call your own. The adults and young overcome this obstacle through a series of vocalizations.
When autumn is ready to turn the world over to winter (something I care not to think about right now), we will need to say good-bye to these avian architects. Cliff swallows are some of the worldâs premier migrators. They will fly to the southern regions of South America to escape the cold of the upper Midwest.
Come spring they will rejoin us, grab some mud, build new nesting structures and start the circle of life anew.
In our next column, we will take a look at a plant some people consider a weed, while others look upon it as a âjewel.â
July 25th, 2007
reference.aol.com
Posted: 2005-01-26 18:38
Bird’s nest soup is made from the nests of tiny birds called swiftlets that live throughout southeast Asia.
Swiftlets live in caves and use a method similar to bats’ echolocation in order to navigate through the darkness. Instead of building nests out of twigs and straw, swiftlets construct nests out of their own gummy saliva, which hardens when exposed to air. These nests are harvested and sold to restaurants, which clean them and then simmer the nests in chicken broth. This soup is quite popular in Asian countries because it is reputed to be an aphrodisiac. It is also expensive, and since many Westerners consider it to be an “acquired taste” (it is sort of rubbery, as one could imagine), many restaurants substitute pasta shaped to look like a bird’s nest instead.
July 23rd, 2007
museum.gov.ns.ca
Status Five records. In 1968 on Sable Island, Christel and Norman Bell noticed five swallows on 11 May and nine on 17-19 May that seemed “odd.” Later that month Ian A. McLaren saw “Cliff Swallows” with pale throats and on 21 June he found a dead bird identifiable as a Cave Swallow.
The following year, up to five birds were seen on Sable Island from 13 to 30 June, at times perched on a clothesline with other swallows, including Cliff Swallows (the Bells and E. Garvey). Since then there have been three more records. On 16 May 1971 Ian A. McLaren and party collected one on Seal Island. In summer 1982 there were two well-documented sight records: one was among Cliff Swallows at Louisbourg on 9 July, seen by a party of birding tourists led by Bret Whitney and David Wolf, and the other was at Cherry Hill Beach, Lunenburg County, on 14 August, where it was spotted by Lise and Shirley Cohrs amongst a flock of Barn Swallows eating beach flies.
Remarks The normal range of this bird lies far south of Nova Scotia in the extreme southern United States, Mexico, parts of South America, and islands in the Caribbean Sea. It is distinguished from our Cliff Swallow by its pale throat and dark forehead and rump. Both specimens appear to be attributable to the Cuban subspecies, Hirundo fulva cavicola (W.E. Godfrey, letter to I.A. McLaren, 16 August 1971). How these birds, otherwise unrecorded on the east coast north of Florida, came to be here is a mystery; perhaps they became associated with migrant flocks of Cliff Swallows.
July 20th, 2007
Savannah Morning News, GA - 1 hour ago
Sometimes watching birds can be like selling ice cream - a particular species seems to show up as the flavor of the week.
When I arrived at Carter’s Lake in pursuit of the south polar skua, the first birds I noticed were barn swallows swooping beneath the wooden beams on the lower level of the marina. Further inspection revealed the presence of several mud nests plastered to the vertical beams.
Later that week while driving along a Tybee street, I noticed barn swallows perched on a wire. These birds, too, were swooping into the lower-level garage of a three-story house. I stopped to look and again found three mud nests.
That same day, I visited the boat ramp at the bridge over the Ogeechee River on U.S. 17 to check out reports that cliff swallows, as well as barn swallows, were nesting there.
Back at home, I watched purple martin parents bringing bugs to my last remaining family of martin babies. At Wild Birds Unlimited, a co-worker’s basket of orphaned birds contained two tiny Northern rough-winged swallows. Within seven days, I had seen four of the six species of swallows that are regular visitors to coastal Georgia.
Personally, I find swallow identification challenging because these aerial acrobats rarely sit still. With sleek bodies, pointed wings and tails that range from deeply forked to almost blunt, they are ideally suited for life on the wing. They also generally prefer to hang in flocks with their friends. Even if you manage to pick out the cliff swallow amid a group of barn swallows, pointing that one bird out to someone else is almost impossible.
“There it is … there it goes … no that’s a barn swallow …. aargh!”
However, when swallows do take a rest, they prefer to perch on a wire or bare branch, which at least makes for unobstructed viewing.
The purple martin, our largest swallow, probably has received the most publicity. In the Eastern United States, they nest almost exclusively in housing provided by humans. People put up multi-unit condos and racks of gourds in hopes of attracting their very own martin colony.
Our second-largest swallow, the barn swallow, is a study in feathered elegance. With dark blue back, orange throat and chest (adult male), and a long, deeply forked tail, the barn swallow has looks, flying ability and architectural talent. Barn swallows gather pellets of mud and use them to form open-cup nests that they line with soft grasses or feathers.
The cliff swallow is slightly smaller than the barn swallow, with a squared-off tail, buffy rump and a white spot on the forehead. They are much less common than barn swallows, did not breed in Georgia until 1965, and can currently be found nesting in only about 30 locations around the state. Cliff swallows also build mud nests, but their nests resemble gourds, with a front hole or tunnel entry.
Northern rough-winged swallows get their name from the fact that their outermost wing feathers have serrated edges. Because this can be hard to see at a distance, look for a plain brown-backed swallow with a dusky throat. This species also nests in coastal Georgia, but with a different style. They like burrows in vertical dirt banks, but may use the cavity opening of a drainpipe, culver or crevice of a bridge support. They prefer single-family nesting, rather than the dense colonies favored by their diminutive cousins the bank swallows.
At 5 and one-fourth inches, bank swallows are the runts of the family. They do not nest in Georgia, but regularly migrate through in spring and fall. These tiny aerial acrobats are dark brown, with white throat and belly and a snappy dark breast band. True to their name, they almost always nest in vertical banks of sand or dirt. Like martins, they opt for togetherness, with hole entrances no more than a foot apart.
And finally, there are the tree swallows with their iridescent blue-green backs and bright white bellies. With a few exceptions, they do not nest in Georgia but arrive en masse in the fall to keep us company through the winter. While their bug-loving cousins head for the Southern Hemisphere, tree swallows broaden their diet to include plants. Their fondness for bayberries means they often hang out along the coast in huge swarms, feasting on the tiny dark berries of the wax myrtle. A swallow seen in Georgia in winter is almost certain to be a tree swallow, unless, of course, it just happens to be a transient cave swallow straying from its usual Caribbean or Mexican home.
That’s another reason I love birds. There are always surprises. You just never know who might show up in your very own backyard. Good birding.
July 19th, 2007
countrygardener.blogspot.com
Every year we have four or five barn swallow pairs nesting in our small barn. We keep our gardening tools and mowers there, and as the swallow babies start leaving the nest, their parents strongly discourage us from entering the barn.
We get furious alarm calls, and Mom and Pop buzzing our heads as we try to go about our business. Early on the weekend, there were three young fledglings on the floor in the barn. When I got too close to them, I discovered that they could actually fly. Well, two did, and the third just looked very scared.
Later I came back with a long lens and took the picture above. By Sunday morning, the babies were gone. I guess they had earned their wings. This usually isn’t the end of it: they tend to come back and hang around the barn roof a bit more before they really embark on their outdoor adventures.
The swallows are an annual happening here. Last year, we had a pair nesting in the garage part of the barn where the ceiling is quite low, so I was able to get pictures of them in the nest and feeding. We enjoy their antics, but we’re also relieved when they’ve flown the coop and all the bird droppings can be cleaned up. While they’re around, it’s a darn good thing our riding mower has a sunroof. Otherwise, the seat would be covered in you-know-what.
The swallows are very entertaining whenever the grass is getting cut. Mowing means fast food, so they swoop and dart in an impressive display of aerial acrobatics, harvesting insects coming out of the grass to avoid the mower’s path.
July 17th, 2007
Epoch Times, NY - Jul 4, 2007
By Ron Haering
Special to The Epoch Times
The city of Khota Bharu in far north-east Malaysia is literally going to the birds ï or more precisely, bird’s nest soup. Over two hundred buildings, some seven stories high, have been converted into giant open aviaries to service the lucrative business of farming edible swiftlet nests ï renowned in Chinese culture for their health benefits.
The shallow, cup-shaped white nests are made of woven strands of saliva stuck to the dark interior building walls. Once the nests have been dislodged, they are soaked and boiled in water and cleaned of impurities. At this stage, the brittle nest has become a translucent gelatinous mass ready for consumption ï usually in a clear chicken consommĂ© thickened with cornstarch and garnished with chopped chicken, pork and an array of other medicinal ingredients.
The taste is bland, but daily consumption of bird’s nest soup is said to enhance virility, aid digestion and boost the immune system. Some believe it will also improve their voice, but after hearing these birds, I feel the same effect could be achieved by inhaling a helium balloon!
The city centre is a cacophony of sound and frenzied aerial movement as clouds of swiflets seek mates above their artificial homes, which are adorned with modified porthole windows and barbed wire edges. Rooftop loudspeakers attempt to lure rival birds with recorded bird calls, as security guards pace the perimeter of each building seeking to protect the nests, and the owner’s considerable income, from unwanted intruders.
These small, energetic birds are endemic to the Asian tropics. With over-exploitation, increasing disturbance and loss of their traditional cave habitats, particularly in Sumatra to the south, swiflets are seeking alternative nest sites in unusual places. Khota Bharu, with its proximity to the river and adjacent rice paddies that provide abundant insect food, is an ideal place to call home.
A big building, such as the converted hotel I’m currently looking at, can yield 60 kilograms of birds’ nests a year (that’s 4800 individual nests). Farmers coax the birds into making at least two nests each season, with the first one taken before eggs are laid and the second after the baby birds have fledged. This many nests can fetch up to $100,000, all with minimal overheads and no customer service required!
July 16th, 2007
Previous Posts