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Begin forwarded message:

> From: Rebecca Dobson <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: July 6, 2010 12:02:37 PM EDT
> To: Kenn Kaufman <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: "Raptor nest sites?"  A report
>

> Ok, I'll weigh in at the risk of appearing stupid (see Steve's list
> of factors, haha).
>
> Re: the additional stresses caused by introduced peregrines.  Dr.
> Rick Relyea with The Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology has been doing
> interesting work with predator stresses on frogs.  Tadpoles can
> tolerate a given quantity of Roundup when in a tank by themselves.
> When he introduced a predator such as a helgrammite to the tank, the
> tadpoles died, not from predation but just from the additional
> stress.  (They did not die from stress when the Roundup was not
> present).  He is surmising the stress makes them more susceptible to
> the herbicide.  My point being that the stress of the peregrine
> flyovers might have more of an impact than we realize.  Interesting
> to think about....
>
> Becky Dobson
> Kinsman, Ohio
>
> Sent from my iPod
>
> On Jul 6, 2010, at 1:01 AM, Kenn Kaufman <[log in to unmask]
> > wrote:
>
>> 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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