Actually they are called flocks and not groups of barn swallows :+) Plus we still have a hummingbird on our feeder every day, some kind of immature or female, probably broad-tailed. Libby Edwards Fort Collins Larimer Co
On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 4:04 PM, Libby Edwards <[email protected]> wrote: > I saw a group of barn swallows (maybe 10-12) Tuesday morning (September > 24) on the wires above the parking lot at Claymore Lake, Reservoir Ridge, > Fort Collins foothills open space. They were munching up the bugs in the > air. > Libby Edwards > Fort Collins > > > On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 10:29 AM, DAVID A LEATHERMAN <[email protected] > > wrote: > >> So, is it just me or does it seem like Barn Swallows have been the last >> swallow species standing for much longer this late summer-autumn than >> usual? >> >> In the way of example, in the northwest corner of Grandview Cemetery in >> Fort Collins there is a bridge over a ditch that hosts nesting by both >> Cliff and Barn Swallows. It appears to me the Cliff Swallows were >> single-brooded this year and the Barns did their normal double nesting. >> Last Cliff was seen there, or anywhere else for that matter, on 4 August. >> Birder's Handbook by Erlich et al says Cliff Swallows "usually have 1 >> brood, sometimes 2-3." I guess the weather this year, particularly the >> late spring storms and a resultant late start to nesting, determined 2013 >> as a single brood year for the Cliffs. I just don't recall a year when for >> essentially all of August and September if one sees a swallow, one could >> assume the overwhelming possibility was Barn. Given the explosion of >> aerial insects of late, it seems ironic that a major group (excepting Barn) >> of insect-eaters is no where to be seen. The analogy that comes to mind >> are sports fans who leave the game early, only to hear during their drive >> home that the home team pulled off a record-setting comeback. Just what is >> the environmental clue that dominates the decision of a species to refrain >> from, or go for, an additional brood? Ditto for migration south. Is it >> day-length, nighttime temps, an assessment of available food resources now >> and into the near future, something else? >> >> I'd be interested in the observations of others about Cliff, or any other >> swallow species for that matter, departing earlier this year compared to a >> "normal" year, if there is such a thing in CO? >> >> Dave Leatherman >> Fort Collins >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Colorado Birds" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/SNT148-W60068E8E52E131D8362687C1280%40phx.gbl >> . >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CABwznzJR79W1zP%3DztO8NbgxSuyH02N31jhYngHj%3DEtq%3D2JZ_0A%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
