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the top This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_001E_01CE865E.1F782B60 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Early last Wednesday morning (July 17th), at Spencer=E2=80=99s Point, = Colchester County, on Cobequid Basin, I saw many Cliff Swallows swooping = about and photographed their nest-holes high up near the top of high = sandstone banksides. The nest-hole count was 80. Does anyone know the = average likelihood of the visible holes containing nests? That is, would = many of the holes be the result of false starts, so there may have = actually been only, say, 60 (or 40, etc.) nests within the 80 holes? A = Bald Eagle was nearby, and I wondered if it would be a predator on the = swallows. Also in Colchester County, a week ago today (on July 14), sitting by = Great Village River=E2=80=99s word-of-mouth =E2=80=9Cswimming = hole=E2=80=9D area, I was delighted to watch three Spotted Sandpipers = off-and-on for more than an hour. One, obviously a juvenile, still had = fluffy chick feathers adhering to its tail. Took several photos. Brian Bartlett, Halifax From: David McCorquodale=20 Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2013 9:21 PM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20 Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Fw: Hundreds of Cliff Swallows in Portuguese = Cove Hans, Blake et al. I would expect it is another flying insect rather than mosquitoes. We = notice a lot of mosquitoes because they are attracted to us. However = most mosquitoes sit and wait on vegetation until a potential food source = gets their attention. Many other insects swarm and could attract = swallows. Ants (many species in NS) swarm and I suspect they have been = and still are an important source for aerial insectivores. Aquatic = insects such as mayflies (and yes some species are flying now in July), = and caddisflies are a couple more options. Those would be my first = three guesses. If anyone could either photograph or collect the insects that are = attracting the swallows it would be of great value. One of the = constraints in understanding the decline of swallows such as Barn = Swallows, Bank Swallows and Cliff Swallows is that we know relatively = little about what foods they eat through the few months they spend in = NS. Given there are 10,000 plus species of insects in NS, just knowing = they eat insects does not provide much understanding. Saw my first Common Nighthawk of the fall migration at Cape Breton = University as the big thunderstorm lit up the sky yesterday evening (20 = July 2013). I suspect that ants seeking mates are a major source of = food for nighthawks through the next month or so. But this is = speculation rather than solid observation. Can someone disprove my = idea? DBMcC David McCorquodale Georges RIver, NS On Sun, Jul 21, 2013 at 8:52 PM, Hans Toom <htoom@hfx.eastlink.ca> = wrote: ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Hans Toom=20 To: NS-RBA=20 Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2013 8:51 PM Subject: Hundreds of Cliff Swallows in Portuguese Cove Leona MacAdam phoned Blake Maybank via Nova Scotia Bird Society = listing. Blake gave Leona my phone number and I went over immediately, a = 30 second drive. There are Cliff Swallows by the hundred hawking = mosquitoes around the high ground at the top of Camperdown Road so go up = to the top of the hill and just look around. There are likely other = species of swallows present as well. Leona does not want lots of = visitors to her place but it won't be necessary to go to her place in = any case because the swallows are wide ranging in the area. I'll try = photographing the display tomorrow morning. Hans = _________________________________________________________________________= ________________________________ Hans Toom Portuguese Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada http://www.hanstoom.com/ ------=_NextPart_000_001E_01CE865E.1F782B60 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <HTML><HEAD></HEAD> <BODY dir=3Dltr> <DIV dir=3Dltr> <DIV style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000"> <DIV>Early last Wednesday morning (July 17th), at Spencer=E2=80=99s = Point, Colchester=20 County, on Cobequid Basin, I saw many Cliff Swallows swooping about and=20 photographed their nest-holes high up near the top of high sandstone = banksides.=20 The nest-hole count was 80. Does anyone know the average likelihood of = the=20 visible holes containing nests? That is, would many of the holes be the = result=20 of false starts, so there may have actually been only, say, 60 (or 40, = etc.)=20 nests within the 80 holes? A Bald Eagle was nearby, and I wondered if it = would=20 be a predator on the swallows.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Also in Colchester County, a week ago today (on July 14), sitting = by Great=20 Village River=E2=80=99s word-of-mouth =E2=80=9Cswimming hole=E2=80=9D = area, I was delighted to watch=20 three Spotted Sandpipers off-and-on for more than an hour. One, = obviously a=20 juvenile, still had fluffy chick feathers adhering to its tail. Took = several=20 photos.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Brian Bartlett, Halifax</DIV> <DIV=20 style=3D"FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; = COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; DISPLAY: = inline"> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt tahoma"> <DIV><FONT size=3D3 face=3DCalibri></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style=3D"BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5"> <DIV style=3D"font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A = title=3Ddbmcc09@gmail.com=20 href=3D"mailto:dbmcc09@gmail.com">David McCorquodale</A> </DIV> <DIV><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, July 21, 2013 9:21 PM</DIV> <DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=3Dnaturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20 href=3D"mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca">naturens@chebucto.ns.ca</A> = </DIV> <DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NatureNS] Fw: Hundreds of Cliff Swallows in = Portuguese=20 Cove</DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></DIV> <DIV=20 style=3D"FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; = COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; DISPLAY: = inline"> <DIV dir=3Dltr><SPAN style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: times; COLOR: = rgb(0,0,0)">Hans, Blake et=20 al.</SPAN><BR style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: times; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><BR=20 style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: times; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><SPAN=20 style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: times; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">I would expect it is = another=20 flying insect rather than mosquitoes. We notice a lot of = mosquitoes=20 because they are attracted to us. However most mosquitoes sit and = wait on=20 vegetation until a potential food source gets their attention. = Many other=20 insects swarm and could attract swallows. Ants (many species