In response to Kenn's inquiry, I have seen Barn Swallows nesting on natural cliff faces on the south side of South Bass Island, and the north side of Gibraltar Island- a very similar situation to West Sister. Not quite as natural, but certainly interesting are Barn Swallows that nest on the sides of several limestone quarries in the Columbus area.
Good birding,
Steve Landes
-----Original Message-----
From: Kenn Kaufman <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tue, Jul 6, 2010 1:01 am
Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] "Raptor nest sites?" A report
I agree with Bill Whan that it would be a fine thing to see more actual
discussion on Ohio-birds, and I have no idea why such discussion doesn't
take place. A few times I have posted things that I hoped would spark some
discussion, and in those cases I have usually gotten some private responses
but often no public responses on the listserve. Seems a little odd.
Regarding the Peregrine introductions to urban sites, in areas where they
had not been known to nest historically -- I am uneasy about that practice.
Sure, we all love Peregrines and love to see them, and a few isolated pairs
out of place probably don't have too much impact on the ecosystem, but still
... A couple of years ago I was going out repeatedly to the "sky ponds"
east-southeast of Fremont during mid to late summer, when that area had big
numbers of shorebirds. It seemed that every time I focused on a big
shorebird concentration, a Peregrine would make a pass and flush all the
birds. Historically it would have been exceptionally rare for a Peregrine
to be around this area in early August, but now the urban birds from
downtown Toledo probably make the rounds of all the shorebird spots in n.w.
Ohio every day during peak season, repeatedly flushing the birds and adding
one more bit of stress to populations that are already facing a variety of
challenges.
Regarding birds that are shifting, or have shifted, to nesting on manmade
structures: I've always been fascinated by this phenomenon. Chimney Swift
is a prime example: their propensity for nesting in chimneys was already
well established two centuries ago. Purple Martin is a bird that goes both
ways: populations in eastern North America practically all nest in houses
put up for them, but in the Southwest they still nest commonly in natural
cavities. Barn Swallow is another bird that has adapted to our structures
in a big way. In years of birding around North America I had seen Barn
Swallow nests in barns, of course, and on porches, in sheds, under bridges,
in culverts, etc., but until a couple of years ago I'd never seen a Barn
Swallow nest in anything that could be considered a "natural" site. When I
got to visit West Sister Island out in Lake Erie, I was impressed by a lot
of things about this federally-designated wilderness area (the only one in
Ohio?), but one of the impressive small things was the presence of Barn
Swallows nesting on the cliffs on the east side of the island. The cliffs
have enough of an overhang that the nest sites appear to be protected from
the elements. It seemed like a hint of the kinds of situations the swallows
would have used before we so thoughtfully provided all these structures for
them.
I would be interested to know: Has anyone found Barn Swallows nesting in
truly natural situations elsewhere in Ohio? What about Purple Martin or
Chimney Swift?
Kenn Kaufman
Oak Harbor, Ohio
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______________________________________________________________________
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Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
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