[Tweeters] Where have all the Swallows gone?

[Dennis Paulson via Tweeters]

Hans, I think swallows have disappeared from much of the Seattle urban/suburban area. Barn and Violet-green were all over the city 40-50 years ago. When we moved into our present house in Maple Leaf in 1991, we had Barn, Violet-green and sometimes Tree over the house on a regular basis, also Vaux’s Swifts. Within a decade or so all had disappeared, and our sky was empty of these birds, never to be seen again. As I drove around town, I noticed the same thing. Both Barn and Violet-green had been in most neighborhoods, but not anymore. These two species nested on buildings, on ledges or in holes, and I wondered if there was a movement to tidy up houses that was eliminating their potential nest sites.

But I suspect it has much more to do with the decline of small flying insects over that time, not a thing that is obvious to us, earthbound as we are. We still have a few subsidized colonies of Purple Martins, but they are feeding largely on wasps and bees, which are still around, and dragonflies, which they can find by flying some distance from their nests.

Dennis Paulson
Seattle


> On Jul 22, 2024, at 12:20 AM, Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

> 

> Has anyone else noticed that there seem to be less swallows around? We normally have a good number of Violet-green Swallows over the lakes here in Twin Lakes in Federal Way. By this time of the year they have finished breeding and we see more Barn Swallows. Also a couple of pairs of Northern Rough-winged Swallows are present with an occasional Tree Swallow mixed in. Over the last month or longer, I have not seen a swallow of any species on most days. What is up? Are we looking at a decline? How is it in other areas around Puget Sound?

> 

> Good Birding!

> 

> Hans

> 

> -- 

> Hans Feddern

> Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA

> thefedderns at gmail.com <mailto:thefedderns at gmail.com>

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