[Tweeters] Where have all the Swallows gone?

[Steve Hampton via Tweeters]

Here in Port Townsend, I agree that swallow nesting sites seem
quite limited. I wonder about the prevalence of House Sparrows -- many
people feed seed (especially white millet) thru the summer, attracting
hordes of House Sparrows with seemingly extraordinary reproductive success.
It's easy to see groups of 20, most of whom fresh juveniles.

House Sparrows can be quite aggressive in taking over nest cavities and
even actively killing chicks of swallows, chickadees, wrens, etc. They nest
in birdhouses with too-large holes, or in old houses.

Locally, I'm about to start a "Project 1-1/8th inch" to retrofit birdhouses
with hole reducers -- basically thresholds that can be screwed onto the
outside of a nest box, reducing the hole diameter to 1-1/8th". This should
eliminate House Sparrows, but be suitable for smaller native species.
Here's an example of a hole reducer:
https://nature-niche.com/collections/bird-house-accessories/products/1-125-diameter-portal-for-chickadee-houses-genuine-copper

good birding,


On Mon, Jul 22, 2024 at 7:29 AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <
tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:


> 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

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-- 
​Steve Hampton​
Port Townsend, WA  (qatáy)
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