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Index of Subjects
for the=0A> swifts in North America and probably also in
Hi All, July 15, 2013
Suitable hair is one component that is likely less available now. In the
40's & 50's we always had nests in the barn and open porch and swallows
would dive-bomb a dog or cat for a beak full of fur, presumably to render
the mud nests stronger. Pets spent most of their daylight time free in the
yard or nearby fields so there was a regular supply of hair.
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
----- Original Message -----
From: <g4syth@staff.ednet.ns.ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>; "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>
Cc: "NatureNS" <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>; "Ally (Allison) Manthorne"
<amanthorne@bsc-eoc.org>; "Mark F Elderkin" <elderkmf@gov.ns.ca>; "Sherman
Boates" <boatesjs@gov.ns.ca>
Sent: Monday, July 15, 2013 9:26 AM
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] re ch. swifts vs. swallows et al. -- was Barn
Swallows and Chimney Swifts
> Hi all,
>
> This is all very interesting, as both barn swallows and chimney swifts
> are less numerous than most of us middle and older aged naturalists
> remember from our past.
>
> When I grew up in Greenwich, Kings County NS there were barn swallows
> nesting in most of the barns in our community. From the west moving east:
> Murray Forsythe's barn had many nests, there were cattle but this barn is
> now gone; Richard Forsyth's ( now Harold's ) there were no cattle but
> swallows in many of the barns, they disappeared for a number of years but
> have returned in smaller numbers; Lewis Legge, now Stephen Legge, there
> were nests in all levels of the barn, cattle for only a few years that I
> remember, no nests presently; My dad's, George Forsyth's barn had barn
> swallows as I grew up, nests on three levels in some years, we had no
> livestock, there haven't been nests for twenty years; Lorna Huston, now
> Ivan Rafuse, a small modern garage, had swallow nests, never had
> livestock, the birds entered under the roll up door that was left open
> about four inches, these birds have gone; Herb Johnson's barn had no
> livestock, but barn swallow nests on two levels, this barn is now gone;
> Rhodes Hennigar's (now Doug), there has been no livestock for many years,
> but there is a continuous healthy population of barn swallows nesting on
> three levels of an old barn on the property, there is a source on mud in
> an area where they wash vegetables and fill farm machinery with water.
>
> In all of these cases the barns or garage are of wood construction, they
> have openings that are accessible to the birds, even open doorways, and
> there is a source of mud. The fact that livestock are present I don't
> think is as important, livestock will almost guarantee that there is mud,
> but if there is some other reason that mud is available as at Doug
> Hennigar's they will still be attracted.
>
> About twenty years ago I remember poking my head into an abandoned shed
> on the lower end of the Stewart Mtn Rd, in Lower Blomidon, there was a
> barn swallow nest in this building and the adults swooped and chattered
> as I looked inside the building. This was not a building being used for
> any purpose by people, and it had not been used for many years, but this
> pair of swallows found it attractive!
>
> I'm sure that the combination of conditions that attract barn swallows to
> nest is known to barn swallows and might never be understood by all of
> us. I also think that just as some of us find some areas attractive for
> our living, and might not be attracted to other places, individual barn
> swallow pairs might nest in conditions that are not necessarily
> "typical". As important as nesting
> is to barn swallow populations their time in Nova Scotia represents only
> one quarter of the year, there must be many other impacts on their
> population that are not related to nesting.
>
> In any case there is a relaxing pleasure in seeing barn swallows swooping
> and coursing a lawn, hay field or pasture on a sunny summer day, we
> should all be jealous of the freedom as they reel, in seeming abandon,
> countering gravity as we are bound to our lawn chairs!
>
>
> George E. Forsyth
>
>
> Quoting "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>:
>
>> Regarding the chimney swift, the history is a bit complex and of
>> course the mathematics of this is/are unknown. Remember that before
>> North Americans/Europeans built chimneys to which the swifts could
>> adapt (which of course they did in spades), the main habitat for the
>> swifts in North America and probably also in South America (wintering
>> areas) was cavities in trunks and large branches of big trees that
>> were old enough to have such fungus-or-other-related cavities.
>> Needless to say, such habitats are long gone, and one wonders if
>> humans and nature are capable of ever producing such again -- another
>> question might be whether the swifts would ever evolve back to natural
>> cavities? (Hopefully, artificial cavities/towers might eventually
>> replace the lost habitats of old hollow trees and chimneys etc. with
>> large enough openings for the entrance & exit of swifts.
>>
>> Another point to bring up is the foods of aerial insectivores like
>> swifts, swallows, nighthawks, flycatchers, and ? and whether the
>> likely problem with those insects might be amenable to any kind of
>> corrective actions. We probably will never be able to show cause and
>> effect for the declines of these birds. Another thing that has
>> entered my mind is that agricultural chemicals are quite possibly
>> parts of the problems, and they just might be affecting all sorts of
>> kinds of biodiversity, other than flying insects.
>>
>> Cheers for now from Jim in Wolfville.
>>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>>> From: Fritz McEvoy <fritzmcevoy@hotmail.com>
>>> Date: July 11, 2013 3:18:42 PM ADT
>>> To: NS NATURE <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
>>> Subject: RE: [NatureNS] Barn Swallows and Chimney Swifts
>>> Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>>>
>>> Hi Rob and All,
>>> I stand to be corrected here, but my understanding is that it was
>>> not only the old barns that were required but that farming;
>>> particularly the keeping of livestock; was also essential. The mud and
>>> manure were used to build the nests and the insects the animals
>>> attracted were a main food source. We lost our local Barn Swallows
>>> shortly after the owners of the barns the swallows used for nests,
>>> which are still