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I had a pair of tree swallows successfully fledge three young a few days ag=
o, from a nest box on the utility pole. I would say they use that box maybe=
every second or third year. Last year they tried to nest in a different bo=
x and abandoned the eggs for some reason. I was happy to watch the last one=
peeking out and the parents teaching the other two while swooping in to en=
courage the straggler to come out. He did the next morning, there was a lot=
of noisy rejoicing in the air as he joined the rest of the family!
Every now and then a barn swallow pair nests here, but it's been several ye=
ars now since I've had them. The barn is the huge old-fashioned kind, and t=
here is also a smaller shed with high peak they've used. The neighbours hav=
e less in their barn than they used to, but they usually have one pair.=C2=
=A0
There are still lots of small farms here, with small herds of beef cattle. =
It is not really agricultural here, except it had to be in past eras for su=
rvival. There are drumlins of good soil, and all the farms are on these, wh=
ich restricts their size. Hardly any dairy farms anymore. Lots of old barns=
though.
Carmel SmithMidville Branch, L'burg County=20
On Monday, June 27, 2016 1:10 PM, Bev Wigney <bkwigney@gmail.com> wrote=
:
=20
All,
Just an observation on Barn Swallows.
When Don and I had our farm in eastern Ontario, there were always a
number of Barn Swallows that nested in the rafters of our barn.=C2=A0 They
successfully raised many young for the first 20 years we were there.
We had no loft, but plenty of ventilation in the stable as we left
large doors open at the east and west ends of the barn, so always a
good breeze blowing through.=C2=A0 The swallows built nests attached to the
rafters. The adults would tear through the barn, often giving us a tip
of the wing on the head or hat as they zoomed past while we were doing
the milking (we kept a large herd of dairy goats at that time).=C2=A0 Then,
we started having hotter and more humid summers.=C2=A0 We noticed this
ouselves, not so much because we watched the thermometer, but because
Don and I were both very avid hikers and paddlers and we started to
find that we could barely stand being out in the sun on hot summer
days -- so we would only paddle on creeks overarched by trees. We
picked out hikes to avoid open trails over the rock expanses on the
Shield.=C2=A0 Anyhow, at this time, we noticed a very sad thing happening
in the barn.=C2=A0 We began to find young birds out of their nests and down
dead or dying on the stable floor.=C2=A0 We had noticed that, even before
they were of an age ready to fly, they would be perching on the edge
of the nests and we could see they were distressed from the heat.=C2=A0 We
couldn't think of anything to do about the situation as we had plenty
of vents at ceiling level as well as the aforementioned barn doors
that were left wide open through summer.=C2=A0 After a couple of summers of
almost total losses of nestlings, the swallows stopped nesting in the
barn and never returned.=C2=A0 I set this time as probably being around the
year 2000 or possibly a little before=C2=A0 as it was probably 8 to 10
years before I sold the farm after Don died.=C2=A0 I am wondering if the
swallows find many stables too hot for nesting now -- especially those
stables that don't have lofts with full hay mows.=C2=A0 That would be a
growing trend, I think, as most people now make round bales and don't
put so much hay up in their mows.=C2=A0 Those barns are probably not so
heat-insulated as they once were.=C2=A0 Stables such as ours, may have been
fine before, but with what seem to be increasingly hot summers, maybe
the heat levels are getting to the point that young birds expire.
Anyhow, just a first-hand observation of a noticeable decline and then
disappearance on my own farm back in eastern Ontario.
Bev Wigney
Round Hills, NS
On 6/27/16, Laviolette, Lance <lance.laviolette@lmco.com> wrote:
> Hi Paul,
>
> Well this birder agrees with you. I=E2=80=99ve seen the demise of small f=
arm cattle
> in eastern Ontario as well with pastures and hay fields becoming huge swa=
ths
> of corn and soya crops as a result. Anyone who thinks that this is a good
> thing should compare the diversity of living things in a soya field to th=
at
> of a pasture.
>
> Gone are the days in this neck of the woods of hundreds of swallows along
> the power lines as they were 20+ years ago.
>
> All the best,
>
> Lance
>
> Lance Laviolette
> Glen Robertson, Ontario
>
>
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<html><head></head><body><div style=3D"color:#000; background-color:#fff; f=
ont-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:16px"><div id=3D"yui_3_=
16_0_ym19_1_1467041513190_9011" dir=3D"ltr"><span id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1=
467041513190_9075">I had a pair of tree swallows successfully fledge three =
young a few days ago, from a nest box on the utility pole. I would say they=
use that box maybe every second or third year. Last year they tried to nes=
t in a different box and abandoned the eggs for some reason. I was happy to=
watch the last one peeking out and the parents teaching the other two whil=
e swooping in to encourage the straggler to come out. He did the next morni=
ng, there was a lot of noisy rejoicing in the air as he joined the rest of =
the family!<br><br>Every now and then a barn swallow pair nests here, but i=
t's been several years now since I've had them. The barn is the huge old-fa=
shioned kind, and there is also a smaller shed with high peak they've used.=
The neighbours have less in their barn than they used to, but they usually=
have one pair. <br><br>There are still lots of small farms here, with=
small herds of beef cattle. It is not really agricultural here, except it =
had to be in past eras for survival. There are drumlins of good soil, and a=
ll the farms are on these, which restricts their size. Hardly any dairy far=
ms anymore. Lots of old barns though.<br><br>Carmel Smith</span></div><div =
id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467041513190_9011" dir=3D"ltr"><span id=3D"yui_3_1=
6_0_ym19_1_1467041513190_9347">Midville Branch, L'burg County</span></div> =
<div class=3D"qtdSeparateBR"><br><br></div><div class=3D"yahoo_quoted" styl=
e=3D"display: block;"> <div style=3D"font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-=
serif; font-size: 16px;"> <div style=3D"font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helveti=
ca Neue,