Thank you for the info, Jose. I hope you are right, and they will keep trying. A birder replied privately and sent me two photos of a nestling (peeking from the burrow) and its parent (flying away with a fecal sac). Both were taken two days ago. This proved that there are grown nestlings in these nests. I only hope that these swallows are able to save themselves and their nestlings. I guess if they can dig their way in, they can dig their way out. Or is it wishful thinking on my part?
---- On Sat, 16 Jul 2022 15:30:59 -0400 Jose Ramirez-Garofalo <jose.ramirez.garof...@rutgers.edu> wrote --- > > Gus, > > Unfortunately, that is a common occurrence with Bank Swallow colonies on the > coast. There is really no way to adequately protect the nests unless the > land management agency fences off the top of the dune/bluff. Disturbance to > the front of the colony site can also a problem at a site like Plumb—though > less-so than actual nest collapse. Since they aren’t protected (not even as > a Species of Special Concern despite their widespread declines in NYS/the > northeast), it isn’t likely that targeted measures will be undertaken for > the swallows there. > > The good news is that they are adept at re-nesting, and will sometimes nest > in drainpipes like Northern Rough-winged Swallows. We are pretty late in the > season for them, but it isn’t out of the question. > > Cheers- > José > > -- > José R. Ramírez-Garofalo > Pronouns: He/Him/His > PhD Student > Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources > Rutgers University > 14 College Farm Road, > New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 > > > From: Gus Keri <gusk...@zoho.com> > Date: Sat, Jul 16, 2022 at 12:52 PM > Subject: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: Bank Swallow nests at Plumb Beach > To: Birding alert, NYSBirds, Birding alert <nysbirds-l@cornell.edu> > > > Updates on these nests: > Today, the third nest was totally occluded and the fourth one is > half-occluded, and I anticipate it to be gone by the end of the day. > The reason: people are camping on the top of the cliff exactly above the > nesting wall. > It is very sad that the first ever Bank Swallow nesting in Brooklyn will not > be successful this year and we won't have any new generation of this species > here. > Gus Keri. > > ============ Forwarded message ============ > From: Gus Keri <gusk...@zoho.com> > To: "Birding alert, NYSBirds, Birding alert"<nysbirds-l@cornell.edu> > Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2022 20:35:40 -0400 > Subject: Bank Swallow nests at Plumb Beach > ============ Forwarded message ============ > > > As some of you know there are few nest holes in Plumb beach for Bank > Swallow this season and this happened here for the first time ever, as far > as I know. > > For the last couple of weeks, there were total 4 holes in a small sandy > wall that span some 10-15 feet high and 15-20 feet wide. I only saw the > swallows go into three of these holes. > > Today, I saw only two open holes while the other two were completely > occluded with sand. > > > > I remember at the beginning that two or three other holes closed > completely with sand, but this was before they started nesting. > > At that time, I thought they make few nests and then choose one or two of > them to be used. > > > > But this time the issue is different. I have seen a swallow go into one > of the two closed nests few times which made the possibility of nesting bird > inside very high. And this made me think; what if there was a female sitting > on the eggs when the hole collapse! Can she make her way out? Are these > holes connected to each other from the inside to provide an escape? > > > > The sand in this wall seems to be soft and can collapse easily. This will > put all the other nests at risk. > > I have never seen Bank Swallow nests before, so, I have no knowledge of > this trouble. > > > > I thought some of you might have an answer. > > > > Does sand collapse cause any harm to the nesting birds? > > Is there anything can be done to protect the current nests? > > > > Gus Keri > > > > -- > > NYSbirds-L List Info: > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm > > ARCHIVES: > 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html > 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L > 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 > > Please submit your observations to eBird: > http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ > > -- > -- NYSbirds-L List > Info: Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > ABA Please submit your observations to > eBird! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
