D.F.O. Monthly Meeting Black Swifts in Colorado with Jason Beason of RMBO Monday, September 27, 2010 Denver Museum of Nature and Science 7:30 p.m.
(** Late breaking developments -- see end of article) For most Colorado birders the best known Black Swift site is likely beautiful Box Canyon above the picturesque old mining town of Ouray. Ouray is located near the headwaters of the Uncompahgre River in southwestern Colorado. Here one ascends the mountainside southwest of town to find Box Canyon’ s rushing waterfalls and steep cliff faces which are home to this colony of Black Swifts. There is a metal catwalk which one follows into the dark, damp rock cleft under the falls. Once eyes adjust to this shadowy environment, one soon locates nestlings sitting in small cone-shaped nests made of mud and moss and clinging to the sheer rock face. These young birds are only fed at night and thus they are waiting patiently for evening and the return of the adults which have been out catching flying insects all day for the young birds. On a warm summer afternoon it would not be unusual to find Sue Hirshman recording observations about the colony as she has for many years in Box Canyon. Sue is from Kansas, but summers in Ouray and has recorded her observations in an interesting article in the Journal of the Colorado Field Ornithologists (vol. 32, pgs. 53-60, 1998). It wasn’t until 1949 that the FIRST Black Swift nest was discovered in Colorado by the eminent ornithological researcher Owen Knorr. He continued working through the 1950’s finding a total of 35 Black Swift colonies in Colorado and making significant contributions to the understanding of the life cycles of these fascinating birds. In 1998 Rich Levad, Jason Beason’s predecessor, became the Rocky Mt. Bird Observatory’s (RMBO) Special Monitoring Projects Coordinator and among his many research projects, he began a survey of Black Swift colonies in Colorado. Since that time RMBO and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) have conducted an extensive inventory of Black Swifts in Colorado, and as of 2006 had confirmed breeding at an amazing 88 locations throughout the mountains of the state. This total represents almost HALF of the known breeding sites for this species throughout its range which extends from Costa Rica to Alaska. This inventory has allowed scientists to estimate the current Colorado Black Swift population at somewhere between 1000 and 1600 birds. Through RMBO’s partnership with the USFS over 100 Black Swifts have been banded in Colorado (more than in any other state). Recaptures at these banding sites have increased knowledge about natal dispersal, longevity, and site fidelity of the species. However, the migration of the Black Swift remains the least understood of all species that breed in the contiguous United States. Four light-level geolocators were placed on Black Swifts in 2009. These geolocators may reveal information about the bird’s migration routes, including their winter destination. RMBO has been recapturing Black Swifts this summer (2010) and hopes to collect at least one of the geolocators so an important information gap for this elusive species can be filled. Additional research conducted by RMBO and the USFS has obtained temperature and humidity information at Black Swift breeding sites throughout the southern Rocky Mountain Region. This information will be critical to guide land managers in their decision making process regarding climate change models and land management. September’s DFO speaker is Jason Beason, the current Special Monitoring Projects Coordinator for RMBO. Jason received a BS from The Ohio State University (1990) where he majored in Natural Resources. After college, he moved out west and became interested in the creatures with feathers. His obsession allowed him to participate in many different projects in 10 western states. He is proud of the fact that he has conducted bird surveys in locations as remote as the Frank Church Wilderness Area in Idaho and as urban as "the strip" in Las Vegas, Nevada. Currently he assists with inventory and monitoring of several of Colorado’s low-density species at the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory. Jason and his wife, Kerry, and two children own and operate a small farm near Paonia, Colorado (Rain Crow Farm). They have recorded 168 species of birds on their yard list! They welcome visitors and their yard is included on the Colorado Birding Trail (http://www.coloradobirdingtrail.com/). For additional information on Black Swifts read Steve Boyle’s article in the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas (pgs. 236-237, 1998); Sue Hirshman’s article (see above); Kim Potter’s article in the Journal of the Colorado Field Ornithologists (vol. 31, pgs. 187-189, 1997); or Donald Davis’s Black Swift article in the Journal of the Colorado Field Ornithologists (vol. 33, pgs. 91-93, 1999). Jason’s lecture on these uncommon birds of Colorado will certainly be interesting and informative, so mark your calendars for Monday, September 27th! New information since this article went to press: RMBO did have success with their geo-locator project and Black Swifts. NOT ALL DETAILS CAN BE SHARED PRIOR TO PUBLICATION, BUT Jason did say, "...that we have achieved success with the project and have discovered where these three Colorado Black Swifts spent the winter of 2009-2010." BUT HE MAY NOT TELL US... Here is some of the details about our research: 1) We have initiated a DNA sampling project to determine how to differentiate the males and females of the species. This has been a topic of debate with people that study the Black Swift and other swift species. It appears that the information in the Identification Guide to North American Birds by Peter Pyle is not completely accurate for Black Swifts. 2) We have discovered that the diet of the Black Swift is more varied than is shown in the available literature. According to the Bird of North America account for the species they prey exclusively upon flying ants. This is not true! 3) Thanks to an extensive inventory we have identified 102 Black Swift breeding colonies in Colorado. There are about 210 total Black Swift colonies in the world so Colorado hosts nearly half of the world's known breeding sites for the species. 4) Two articles have been published in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology as a result of research taking place in Colorado and New Mexico. 5) We have gathered baseline temperature and humidity data at Black Swift breeding sites in Colorado, New Mexico, and California. This will be extremely valuable information if the anticipated effects of climate change occur at high elevations. * * * * * * * * * * * Future Meetings * CHANGE OF MEETING DATE * Tuesday, October 19, 2010 - Scott Rashid and Small Mountain Owls Scott lives in Estes Park and will share his experiences studying, banding, painting, and writing about Colorado’s small mountain owls, and will share his new book on the subject. November 22, 2010 - Kevin Cook returns! * * * * * * * * * * * Directions The Denver Field Ornithologists monthly meetings are held in Ricketson Auditorium at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in City Park. These meetings are free and open to the public and occur on the 4th Monday of each month August through April (except December). Park on the north side of the Museum and walk around and enter through the Museum's west doors. Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. Plan to arrive by 7:15 p.m.; DOORS OPEN BY 7:00 AND ARE LOCKED AT 7:30 P.M. If late, you can enter through the security/volunteer entrance on the north side of the building, but this does create problems for our hosts at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Submitted by Chris A. Blakeslee - DFO Board Member Centennial, Colorado [email protected] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
