cliff swallow ~ 07/22/11 ~ Elkhorn Slough

juvenile cliff swallow
Petrochelidon pyrrhonota (formerly Hirundo pyrrhonota)

posted 09/26/11 - This poor little thing had fallen out of its nest. The dutiful parents were still swooping down to feed it even though people were only feet away from the entrance to the nature center building. Judging by the amount of piled poop, I wonder if it was close to being fledged. By the time we returned from our hike the juvenile cliff swallow was gone. Surely it didn't fly away on its own? We went inside to inquire what had happened. One of the volunteers is a wildlife rehabilitator and took the bird. Apparently, there were many things wrong with it, including open sores and a misshaped wing. I know bird lice are common, but that wouldn't necessarily explain the open sores. And, how would one rehab a bird with a misshaped wing? My question was shrewdly evaded by the volunteer.

I've posted pictures of cliff swallows at Elkhorn on 05/13/10 with their distinctive gourd-shaped nests. The volunteers told us that the odd wooden structures in the meadows were built specifically to lure the cliff swallows to nest there, instead of on the nature center and research buildings. It didn't work. That may explain why for a couple years I noticed strips of reflective ribbon exactly where this bird's next was.

ps - I often don't think things through before commenting on others' blog posts. I couldn't figure out why Tree in the Door's Fauna and Flora has pictures of cliff swallows in cup-shaped nests, like what barn swallows have. Duh! I should have noticed the birds were adult and that they were just starting the process of building their nests.

cliff swallow ~ 05/13/10 ~ Elkhorn Slough

cliff swallow
Hirundo pyrrhonota

I was amused to see the mass numbers and enclosed shape of the cliff swallow nests compared to the single, open barn swallow nest I found in Oregon last year. These cliff swallows look stern to me; maybe it's the white brow.

Growing up in the Central Valley, we had "mud" swallows attempt to build numerous nests on our house. Every weekend my dad would wash off the mud from the eaves with a hose. I'm guessing they were cliff swallows now that I know cliff and barn swallows are the only ones to build mud nests in California and the differences between the two.

It seems to me Elkhorn Slough folks used to try to keep the swallows away from the nature center and research buildings with reflective strips of ribbon. Now, there's a "Shhh!" sign to caution visitors from disturbing the nests. I can imagine by the end of the nesting period, that artistic splatter of droppings could well end up being a significant pile of poop.

I usually don't link to IPM sites, but both links in the common and scientific names above are for management. In a previous entry I gave the Cornell-supplied genus of Petrochelidon. I'm not sure which name is now most commonly used.

swallows ~ 05/10/10 ~ El Estero

barn swallow
Hirundo rustica

cliff swallow
Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

tree swallow
Tachycineta bicolor

where a violet-green swallow was
Tachycineta thalassina

Seeing four species of swallows at Lake El Estero was an unexpected delight. They were everywhere! Why do they fly so close to you as you're walking? I was hoping to take a picture of a night heron in a tree when I found these swallows seemingly soaking up the late afternoon sun. Truth be told, I have never looked up the different kinds of swallows before these pictures. Dunno, it was easy to simply call them swallows and leave it at that, especially when they fly so freakin' fast. For a fun pic of a barn swallow nest from last year while we were on a camping trip north, check out this travel post from Oregon.

I once banded cliff swallows, if you can believe considering I am definitely not an avid birder. I did not like the experience at all. An ornithologist fellow (can't remember his name now, but he was very pleasant) and I set up a mist net across the underside of a road bridge. I cringed at how the swallows were caught and struggled for their lives to free themselves from the net while babies chirped from the nests nearby. The trapped swallows eventually sorta hung there, tangled in the net, looking pitiful. Then I had to grab them, extricate them from the netting, and crimp a ridiculous metal ring to their leg. I hoped I wasn't using too small a hole on the pliers-like device for clamping. Their legs felt so fragile. I was bitten several times while whispering to the little, warm, rapid-heart beating bodies, "I'm so sorry to do this to you." Nope, I won't go banding again anytime soon. It's not for me.

Actually, we headed to El Estero this evening for 3 reasons: 1) french fries nearby 2) look for juvenile American coots (after seeing what they looked like online, I'm really excited to see one in person 3) and get off our stinkin' computers and go outside.