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>> North Americans/Europeans built chimneys to which the swif --967773369-85481208-1373896777=:6736 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi Nancy=0AWe always=A0called the swallows who nested outside Eave Swallows= (=0ACliff Swallows=A0 in todays books ) - the ones inside Barn swallows.= =0ALovely birds=0APaul=0A=0AFrom: nancy dowd <nancypdowd@gmail.com>=0ATo: n= aturens@chebucto.ns.ca =0ASent: Monday, July 15, 2013 10:43:06 AM=0ASubject= : Re: [NatureNS] re ch. swifts vs. swallows et al. -- was Barn Swallows and= Chimney Swifts=0A=0A=0AHi Paul and all=0A=0AIs it the usual for Barn Swall= ows to not nest anywhere outside but=0Arather prefer inside spaces exclusiv= ely (barn, shed or garage or...)?=0AI have nature-loving friends who have r= ebuilt their barns and made=0Asure no swallows can get in and make a mess o= f their tractors etc.=0AThey feel the Barn Swallows will nest outside under= the eaves instead.=0AMaybe they are wrong?=0A=0AI have to agree with Georg= e Forsyth. Watching Swallows of any species=0Aswoop over open land is an ae= rial show worth seeing.=0A=0ANancy=0A=0AOn Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 10:15 AM, P= aul MacDonald <paulrita2001@yahoo.com> wrote:=0A>=0A> Very interesting Geor= ge=0A> One thing that cattle attracted was flies and mosquitos=0A> and the = barn swallows followed the cattle closely.=0A> I grew up on a small mixed f= arm with 50 head of cattle=0A> and always lots of barn swallows. The swallo= ws would light on=0A> the cattle's back in the field. In fact my Grandfathe= r when he was=0A> working in the field would have them light on his shoulde= rs.=0A> Of course there was so many added each year some would=0A> have to = take up residence at other peoples farms or buildings.=0A> cattle or no cat= tle.=0A> There was two species Cliff Swallows ( Hirundo pyrrhonota ) which = were=0A> called Eave Swallows and Barn Swallows ( Hirundo rustica ).=0A> Ea= ve swallows nest outside under the eaves. My Grandfather had put=0A> up a b= oard under the eave of the buildings=A0 near the well where they=0A> nested= . English Sparrows and Starlings done a bad job on them.=0A> Especially the= Sparrows and the Eave swallows soon disapppeared=0A> when they arrived. Th= e Barn swallows held on until the cattle left.=0A> We also had a large colo= ny of Bank Swallows ( Riparia riparia ) in=0A> the front field. They nested= in the south facing bank which was about 15 m=0A> in height.=A0 It worked = good - we could only cultivate to about 5 m=0A> from the edge the bank so t= hat ground was undisturbed and left=0A> to the swallows. Horses had more fe= ar of falling over the edge than did=0A> tractors!=0A> The arrival of the s= hunks finished that off. They dug out all the nests=0A> as well as=A0 destr= oying all the tern eggs on the beach. We carried=0A> out an active control = program on the shunks but they multiplied faster=0A> than my Grandfather co= uld dispense them . Taught me a lot about=0A> predator control if nothing e= lse. His favorite method was to put=0A> a batch of eggs about 30 m from whe= re he could sit. He would=0A> do that for several evening in a row. One eve= ning he would wait and=0A> when the feast was on he would help the celebrat= ion=0A> with both barrels of the 12 ga. Much like Canada Day now.=0A> Effec= tive in the short tern but no long term effect.=0A> Anyway we miss the swal= lows=0A> Paul=0A>=0A>=0A>=0A> From: "g4syth@staff.ednet.ns.ca" <g4syth@staf= f.ednee them t.ns.ca>=0A> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca; James W. Wolford <ji= mwolford@eastlink.ca>=0A> Cc: NatureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>; Ally (All= ison) Manthorne=0A> <amanthorne@bsc-eoc.org>; Mark F Elderkin <elderkmf@gov= .ns.ca>; Sherman=0A> Boates <boatesjs@gov.ns.ca>=0A> Sent: Monday, July 15,= 2013 9:26:59 AM=0A> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] re ch. swifts vs. swallows et = al. -- was Barn=0A> Swallows and Chimney Swifts=0A>=0A> Hi all,=0A>=0A> Thi= s is all very interesting, as both barn swallows and chimney swifts=0A> are= less numerous than most of us middle and older aged naturalists=0A> rememb= er from our past.=0A>=0A> When I grew up in Greenwich, Kings County NS ther= e were barn swallows=0A> nesting in most of the barns in our community. Fro= m the west moving=0A> east: Murray Forsythe's barn had many nests, there we= re cattle but=0A> this barn is now gone; Richard Forsyth's ( now Harold's )= there were=0A> no cattle but swallows in many of the barns, they disappear= ed for a=0A> number of years but have returned in smaller numbers; Lewis Le= gge, now=0A> Stephen Legge, there were nests in all levels of the barn, cat= tle for=0A> only a few years that I remember, no nests presently; My dad's,= George=0A> Forsyth's barn had barn swallows as I grew up, nests on three l= evels=0A> in some years, we had no livestock, there haven't been nests for= =0A> twenty years; Lorna Huston, now Ivan Rafuse, a small modern garage,=0A= > had swallow nests, never had livestock, the birds entered under the=0A> r= oll up door that was left open about four inches, these birds have=0A> gone= ; Herb Johnson's barn had no livestock, but barn swallow nests on=0A> two l= evels, this barn is now gone; Rhodes Hennigar's (now Doug), there=0A> has b= een no livestock for many years, but there is a continuous=0A> healthy popu= lation of barn swallows nesting on three levels of an old=0A> barn on the p= roperty, there is a source on mud in an area where they=0A> wash vegetables= and fill farm machinery with water.=0A>=0A> In all of these cases the barn= s or garage are of wood construction,=0A> they have openings that are acces= sible to the birds, even open=0A> doorways, and there is a source of mud. T= he fact that livestock are=0A> present I don't think is as important, lives= tock will almost guarantee=0A> that there is mud, but if there is some othe= r reason that mud is=0A> available as at Doug Hennigar's they will still be= attracted.=0A>=0A> About twenty years ago I remember poking my head into a= n ab