Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Joseph Wallace]

Quick update: It seems like swallow "feather play" has been recorded in
Barn Swallows but documented much more heavily in Tree Swallows. With a
little more research, I found a first-hand report (on The Birding
Project's blog) of very similar behavior to Trees in the closely related
Violet-green out west (e.g., chasing, mates exchanging a feather in
midair.) But it seems to me that these behaviors can be more readily
explained as competition and pair-bonding than what I witnessed. The Barn
Swallow was dropping and catching the feather solo for several minutes, and
though nearby swallows swooped in occasionally to check it out as it
floated, not one of them touched it. It seemed to me like pure play (or
agility practice, I guess).

Now I'm interested in whether there are similar reports in other Hirundo
swallows in Africa, Asia, etc. Thanks to all one more time for making this
conversation so fascinating and informative. --Joe

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Joseph Wallace]

Quick update: It seems like swallow "feather play" has been recorded in
Barn Swallows but documented much more heavily in Tree Swallows. With a
little more research, I found a first-hand report (on The Birding
Project's blog) of very similar behavior to Trees in the closely related
Violet-green out west (e.g., chasing, mates exchanging a feather in
midair.) But it seems to me that these behaviors can be more readily
explained as competition and pair-bonding than what I witnessed. The Barn
Swallow was dropping and catching the feather solo for several minutes, and
though nearby swallows swooped in occasionally to check it out as it
floated, not one of them touched it. It seemed to me like pure play (or
agility practice, I guess).

Now I'm interested in whether there are similar reports in other Hirundo
swallows in Africa, Asia, etc. Thanks to all one more time for making this
conversation so fascinating and informative. --Joe

--

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/

--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Judith Thurber]

That’s  a pretty wonderful recollection —- glad you had such glorious 
experience!

Judy Thurber 
Liverpool 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 9, 2021, at 7:05 AM, Meena Madhav Haribal  wrote:
> 
> Hi all, 
> 
> Barn Swallows are fascinating creatures. Recently, I was on dirt road,  in  a 
> rural area of Grand Forks ND, cruising slowly to look for grassland birds. 
> And I parked at one wet location to record some birds. All of sudden I found 
> four or five  Barn Swallows flying around the car and some would pause flying 
> in front of my open passenger window. Initially, I thought they were looking 
> in the rear view mirror, but they often looked at me through the window 
> facing me. I felt this behavior odd. And a few minutes later one came inside 
> my car and sat of my dashboard on the passenger side of the window. I was so 
> transfixed and awed at the creature and its beady eyes watching me. It sat 
> there for a few seconds. I did not understand what they really wanted. I have 
> a video showing the birds flying around my car and one landing on the side of 
> my car near door handle and a photograph of one looking inside my car 
> watching me. I can't post those here. 
> 
> It was a cold morning with temperatures hovering just around 40 F. And my car 
> was hot as I was using heater inside my car and also sun was up and heating 
> the metal body of the car. One more thing happened in these areas was when I 
> drove through wet areas was hoards of gnats would fly around my car and 
> sometimes it looked like a thick cloud. On several occasions I have run back 
> into the car and shut the windows. So I deduced that behavior of swallows was 
> to get warmth and these insects. May be they were telling me to move so I can 
> disturb the insects!
> 
> Later, at other locations when I was driving on a cold morning with temps in 
> low 40s, I would see Barn Swallows following my car back and forth and 
> catching insects that my car disturbed. They would come up close to my car 
> and fly away at the last moment before hitting the car. There were other 
> swallows like Tree and Cliff but they did not do this, they remained far away 
> from the car. On these occasions I purposely drove very slowly for the 
> benefit of Barn swallows. 
> 
> I also remember several years ago, in Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, 
> along the main drive as I was driving the swallows were following my car on a 
> cold day. Initially I was thinking that I am going to hit them, but realized 
> that they are smarter creatures and knew when to move away from the car. 
> 
> So I think Barn Swallows have learnt this behavior to follow cars to find 
> insects along the car. 
> 
> I would love to hear if anybody else has observed this behavior for Barn 
> Swallows.
> 
> That cute little creature in my car staring at me made my day for me! Later 
> that day I also found Bank Swallows, Cliff Swallows and Tree Swallows in 
> hundreds. So I call it a Swallow day of my trip! 
> 
> Cheers
> Meena 
> 
> Meena Haribal 
> Ithaca NY 14850
> 42.429007,-76.47111
> http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/
> Dragonfly book sample pages:
> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1ngrZelDNo5QnFDMl9BdVNlLXc
> Road Trip to Africa Book Preview 
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KsoxFFcMNSck8y_qpxNHqefq4iL-VSSS/view?usp=sharing
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Subject: Re: Barn Swallow question
> From: anneboby 
> Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2021 15:41:46 + (UTC)
> X-Message-Number: 6
> 
> Further to Bob Paxton's comment about Tree Swallows' love affair with feather 
> lining of their nests,  I have found these birds very resourceful with their 
> feather gathering depending on the nature of their local habitat.  For years 
> I have monitored nest boxes in Upstate counties of Schenectady, Saratoga, 
> Schoharie and Montgomery.  Depending on location, these swallows gather 
> feathers of a wide range of species, as well as in varying quantity.  Rural 
> areas are more endowed with local fowl than are suburban areas leading to 
> easier gathering.
> For instance the nest boxes at the Landis Arboretum  in rural Schoharie Co. 
> with roosters crowing in the distance had much larger gatherings of goose, 
> duck and chicken feathers in general than did the boxes at West Hill, a 
> suburban residential area in the Town of Rotterdam in Sch'dy Co where Great 
> Horned Owl feathers made an almost annual appearance.
> 
> In some areas the tan body feathers of barnyard geese are very popular, but 
> so can be white feathers from domestic ducks.  Less numerous are flank 
> feathers from male Mallard, Wood Duck and body feathers of Wild Turkey.
> Some of the rarer choices are from Great Blue Heron, Great Horned Owl (body), 
> No. Saw-whet Owl (primaries) and the strangest of all: Common Nighthawk.  One 
> nest in Montgomery Co contained 5-6 nighthawk feathers including flight 
> feathers (rectrix and wing) suggesting that this swallow had found a dead 
> nighthawk and was harvesting feathers from it.  

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Judith Thurber]

That’s  a pretty wonderful recollection —- glad you had such glorious 
experience!

Judy Thurber 
Liverpool 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 9, 2021, at 7:05 AM, Meena Madhav Haribal  wrote:
> 
> Hi all, 
> 
> Barn Swallows are fascinating creatures. Recently, I was on dirt road,  in  a 
> rural area of Grand Forks ND, cruising slowly to look for grassland birds. 
> And I parked at one wet location to record some birds. All of sudden I found 
> four or five  Barn Swallows flying around the car and some would pause flying 
> in front of my open passenger window. Initially, I thought they were looking 
> in the rear view mirror, but they often looked at me through the window 
> facing me. I felt this behavior odd. And a few minutes later one came inside 
> my car and sat of my dashboard on the passenger side of the window. I was so 
> transfixed and awed at the creature and its beady eyes watching me. It sat 
> there for a few seconds. I did not understand what they really wanted. I have 
> a video showing the birds flying around my car and one landing on the side of 
> my car near door handle and a photograph of one looking inside my car 
> watching me. I can't post those here. 
> 
> It was a cold morning with temperatures hovering just around 40 F. And my car 
> was hot as I was using heater inside my car and also sun was up and heating 
> the metal body of the car. One more thing happened in these areas was when I 
> drove through wet areas was hoards of gnats would fly around my car and 
> sometimes it looked like a thick cloud. On several occasions I have run back 
> into the car and shut the windows. So I deduced that behavior of swallows was 
> to get warmth and these insects. May be they were telling me to move so I can 
> disturb the insects!
> 
> Later, at other locations when I was driving on a cold morning with temps in 
> low 40s, I would see Barn Swallows following my car back and forth and 
> catching insects that my car disturbed. They would come up close to my car 
> and fly away at the last moment before hitting the car. There were other 
> swallows like Tree and Cliff but they did not do this, they remained far away 
> from the car. On these occasions I purposely drove very slowly for the 
> benefit of Barn swallows. 
> 
> I also remember several years ago, in Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, 
> along the main drive as I was driving the swallows were following my car on a 
> cold day. Initially I was thinking that I am going to hit them, but realized 
> that they are smarter creatures and knew when to move away from the car. 
> 
> So I think Barn Swallows have learnt this behavior to follow cars to find 
> insects along the car. 
> 
> I would love to hear if anybody else has observed this behavior for Barn 
> Swallows.
> 
> That cute little creature in my car staring at me made my day for me! Later 
> that day I also found Bank Swallows, Cliff Swallows and Tree Swallows in 
> hundreds. So I call it a Swallow day of my trip! 
> 
> Cheers
> Meena 
> 
> Meena Haribal 
> Ithaca NY 14850
> 42.429007,-76.47111
> http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/
> Dragonfly book sample pages:
> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1ngrZelDNo5QnFDMl9BdVNlLXc
> Road Trip to Africa Book Preview 
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KsoxFFcMNSck8y_qpxNHqefq4iL-VSSS/view?usp=sharing
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Subject: Re: Barn Swallow question
> From: anneboby 
> Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2021 15:41:46 + (UTC)
> X-Message-Number: 6
> 
> Further to Bob Paxton's comment about Tree Swallows' love affair with feather 
> lining of their nests,  I have found these birds very resourceful with their 
> feather gathering depending on the nature of their local habitat.  For years 
> I have monitored nest boxes in Upstate counties of Schenectady, Saratoga, 
> Schoharie and Montgomery.  Depending on location, these swallows gather 
> feathers of a wide range of species, as well as in varying quantity.  Rural 
> areas are more endowed with local fowl than are suburban areas leading to 
> easier gathering.
> For instance the nest boxes at the Landis Arboretum  in rural Schoharie Co. 
> with roosters crowing in the distance had much larger gatherings of goose, 
> duck and chicken feathers in general than did the boxes at West Hill, a 
> suburban residential area in the Town of Rotterdam in Sch'dy Co where Great 
> Horned Owl feathers made an almost annual appearance.
> 
> In some areas the tan body feathers of barnyard geese are very popular, but 
> so can be white feathers from domestic ducks.  Less numerous are flank 
> feathers from male Mallard, Wood Duck and body feathers of Wild Turkey.
> Some of the rarer choices are from Great Blue Heron, Great Horned Owl (body), 
> No. Saw-whet Owl (primaries) and the strangest of all: Common Nighthawk.  One 
> nest in Montgomery Co contained 5-6 nighthawk feathers including flight 
> feathers (rectrix and wing) suggesting that this swallow had found a dead 
> nighthawk and was harvesting feathers from it.  

Re:[nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Meena Madhav Haribal]

Hi all, 

Barn Swallows are fascinating creatures. Recently, I was on dirt road,  in  a 
rural area of Grand Forks ND, cruising slowly to look for grassland birds. And 
I parked at one wet location to record some birds. All of sudden I found four 
or five  Barn Swallows flying around the car and some would pause flying in 
front of my open passenger window. Initially, I thought they were looking in 
the rear view mirror, but they often looked at me through the window facing me. 
I felt this behavior odd. And a few minutes later one came inside my car and 
sat of my dashboard on the passenger side of the window. I was so transfixed 
and awed at the creature and its beady eyes watching me. It sat there for a few 
seconds. I did not understand what they really wanted. I have a video showing 
the birds flying around my car and one landing on the side of my car near door 
handle and a photograph of one looking inside my car watching me. I can't post 
those here. 

It was a cold morning with temperatures hovering just around 40 F. And my car 
was hot as I was using heater inside my car and also sun was up and heating the 
metal body of the car. One more thing happened in these areas was when I drove 
through wet areas was hoards of gnats would fly around my car and sometimes it 
looked like a thick cloud. On several occasions I have run back into the car 
and shut the windows. So I deduced that behavior of swallows was to get warmth 
and these insects. May be they were telling me to move so I can disturb the 
insects!

Later, at other locations when I was driving on a cold morning with temps in 
low 40s, I would see Barn Swallows following my car back and forth and catching 
insects that my car disturbed. They would come up close to my car and fly away 
at the last moment before hitting the car. There were other swallows like Tree 
and Cliff but they did not do this, they remained far away from the car. On 
these occasions I purposely drove very slowly for the benefit of Barn swallows. 

I also remember several years ago, in Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, along 
the main drive as I was driving the swallows were following my car on a cold 
day. Initially I was thinking that I am going to hit them, but realized that 
they are smarter creatures and knew when to move away from the car. 

So I think Barn Swallows have learnt this behavior to follow cars to find 
insects along the car. 

I would love to hear if anybody else has observed this behavior for Barn 
Swallows.

That cute little creature in my car staring at me made my day for me! Later 
that day I also found Bank Swallows, Cliff Swallows and Tree Swallows in 
hundreds. So I call it a Swallow day of my trip! 

Cheers
Meena 

Meena Haribal 
Ithaca NY 14850
42.429007,-76.47111
http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/
Dragonfly book sample pages:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1ngrZelDNo5QnFDMl9BdVNlLXc
Road Trip to Africa Book Preview 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KsoxFFcMNSck8y_qpxNHqefq4iL-VSSS/view?usp=sharing




Subject: Re: Barn Swallow question
From: anneboby 
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2021 15:41:46 + (UTC)
X-Message-Number: 6

Further to Bob Paxton's comment about Tree Swallows' love affair with feather 
lining of their nests,  I have found these birds very resourceful with their 
feather gathering depending on the nature of their local habitat.  For years I 
have monitored nest boxes in Upstate counties of Schenectady, Saratoga, 
Schoharie and Montgomery.  Depending on location, these swallows gather 
feathers of a wide range of species, as well as in varying quantity.  Rural 
areas are more endowed with local fowl than are suburban areas leading to 
easier gathering.
For instance the nest boxes at the Landis Arboretum  in rural Schoharie Co. 
with roosters crowing in the distance had much larger gatherings of goose, duck 
and chicken feathers in general than did the boxes at West Hill, a suburban 
residential area in the Town of Rotterdam in Sch'dy Co where Great Horned Owl 
feathers made an almost annual appearance.

In some areas the tan body feathers of barnyard geese are very popular, but so 
can be white feathers from domestic ducks.  Less numerous are flank feathers 
from male Mallard, Wood Duck and body feathers of Wild Turkey.
Some of the rarer choices are from Great Blue Heron, Great Horned Owl (body), 
No. Saw-whet Owl (primaries) and the strangest of all: Common Nighthawk.  One 
nest in Montgomery Co contained 5-6 nighthawk feathers including flight 
feathers (rectrix and wing) suggesting that this swallow had found a dead 
nighthawk and was harvesting feathers from it.  Nighthawks molt away from  the 
northeastern U.S. spring nesting season.
Feathers, flight and body, from local passerines also show up in these nests on 
rare occasion.  But far and away, body feathers of barnyard fowl are the most 
common Tree Swallow nest lining material in these counties.
Bob YunickSchenectady




---

END OF DIGEST


--

NYSbirds-L List Info:

Re:[nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Meena Madhav Haribal]

Hi all, 

Barn Swallows are fascinating creatures. Recently, I was on dirt road,  in  a 
rural area of Grand Forks ND, cruising slowly to look for grassland birds. And 
I parked at one wet location to record some birds. All of sudden I found four 
or five  Barn Swallows flying around the car and some would pause flying in 
front of my open passenger window. Initially, I thought they were looking in 
the rear view mirror, but they often looked at me through the window facing me. 
I felt this behavior odd. And a few minutes later one came inside my car and 
sat of my dashboard on the passenger side of the window. I was so transfixed 
and awed at the creature and its beady eyes watching me. It sat there for a few 
seconds. I did not understand what they really wanted. I have a video showing 
the birds flying around my car and one landing on the side of my car near door 
handle and a photograph of one looking inside my car watching me. I can't post 
those here. 

It was a cold morning with temperatures hovering just around 40 F. And my car 
was hot as I was using heater inside my car and also sun was up and heating the 
metal body of the car. One more thing happened in these areas was when I drove 
through wet areas was hoards of gnats would fly around my car and sometimes it 
looked like a thick cloud. On several occasions I have run back into the car 
and shut the windows. So I deduced that behavior of swallows was to get warmth 
and these insects. May be they were telling me to move so I can disturb the 
insects!

Later, at other locations when I was driving on a cold morning with temps in 
low 40s, I would see Barn Swallows following my car back and forth and catching 
insects that my car disturbed. They would come up close to my car and fly away 
at the last moment before hitting the car. There were other swallows like Tree 
and Cliff but they did not do this, they remained far away from the car. On 
these occasions I purposely drove very slowly for the benefit of Barn swallows. 

I also remember several years ago, in Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, along 
the main drive as I was driving the swallows were following my car on a cold 
day. Initially I was thinking that I am going to hit them, but realized that 
they are smarter creatures and knew when to move away from the car. 

So I think Barn Swallows have learnt this behavior to follow cars to find 
insects along the car. 

I would love to hear if anybody else has observed this behavior for Barn 
Swallows.

That cute little creature in my car staring at me made my day for me! Later 
that day I also found Bank Swallows, Cliff Swallows and Tree Swallows in 
hundreds. So I call it a Swallow day of my trip! 

Cheers
Meena 

Meena Haribal 
Ithaca NY 14850
42.429007,-76.47111
http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/
Dragonfly book sample pages:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1ngrZelDNo5QnFDMl9BdVNlLXc
Road Trip to Africa Book Preview 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KsoxFFcMNSck8y_qpxNHqefq4iL-VSSS/view?usp=sharing




Subject: Re: Barn Swallow question
From: anneboby 
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2021 15:41:46 + (UTC)
X-Message-Number: 6

Further to Bob Paxton's comment about Tree Swallows' love affair with feather 
lining of their nests,  I have found these birds very resourceful with their 
feather gathering depending on the nature of their local habitat.  For years I 
have monitored nest boxes in Upstate counties of Schenectady, Saratoga, 
Schoharie and Montgomery.  Depending on location, these swallows gather 
feathers of a wide range of species, as well as in varying quantity.  Rural 
areas are more endowed with local fowl than are suburban areas leading to 
easier gathering.
For instance the nest boxes at the Landis Arboretum  in rural Schoharie Co. 
with roosters crowing in the distance had much larger gatherings of goose, duck 
and chicken feathers in general than did the boxes at West Hill, a suburban 
residential area in the Town of Rotterdam in Sch'dy Co where Great Horned Owl 
feathers made an almost annual appearance.

In some areas the tan body feathers of barnyard geese are very popular, but so 
can be white feathers from domestic ducks.  Less numerous are flank feathers 
from male Mallard, Wood Duck and body feathers of Wild Turkey.
Some of the rarer choices are from Great Blue Heron, Great Horned Owl (body), 
No. Saw-whet Owl (primaries) and the strangest of all: Common Nighthawk.  One 
nest in Montgomery Co contained 5-6 nighthawk feathers including flight 
feathers (rectrix and wing) suggesting that this swallow had found a dead 
nighthawk and was harvesting feathers from it.  Nighthawks molt away from  the 
northeastern U.S. spring nesting season.
Feathers, flight and body, from local passerines also show up in these nests on 
rare occasion.  But far and away, body feathers of barnyard fowl are the most 
common Tree Swallow nest lining material in these counties.
Bob YunickSchenectady




---

END OF DIGEST


--

NYSbirds-L List Info:

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Orhan Birol]

 Dr, Bill Zitek.who single handedly turned around theBluebird nesting
program, I starting eighteen years ago, and has been a beloved veterinarian
for the last forty or so years in the north fork of LI , requested me to
post on his behalf the following:

I could contribute to this but don’t know how to get in to the
conversation. 18 years on our nest box trail at Mashomack produced not only
Eastern Bluebirds but even more Tree Swallows. One of the treats for
volunteers was to watch a feather thrown up into the air and immediately
snapped up by a swooping tree swallow. One time one of our volunteers
brought a friend along, when told of this phenomena with tree swallows, he
scoffed at the idea and net me a lunch that it wouldn’t happen. To be on
the “up and up” I let him flip a white feather up into the air near a  tree
swallow nest box. I ablink a tree swallow swooped in and claimed the
feather and to make sure we understood it’s ability, passed the feather in
mid air to its mate. Our doubter looked rather sheepish realizing his
mis-calculation of tree Swallow prowess. I was ready for a free lunch but
our friend quickly left us when we got back to our drop-off point. As they
say : “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”.
Bill


On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 2:37 PM Joseph Wallace  wrote:

> The choice of what feathers swallows choose, and how they reflect local
> conditions, is another interesting path! Given the size of the feather I
> observed, and the way the mix of fields/lawns and river's edge at Croton
> Point Park attracts Canada Geese, I'd guess that goose down might be a
> popular nest-liner there.
>
> On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 11:41 AM anneboby  wrote:
>
>> Further to Bob Paxton's comment about Tree Swallows' love affair with
>> feather lining of their nests,  I have found these birds very resourceful
>> with their feather gathering depending on the nature of their local
>> habitat.  For years I have monitored nest boxes in Upstate counties of
>> Schenectady, Saratoga, Schoharie and Montgomery.  Depending on location,
>> these swallows gather feathers of a wide range of species, as well as in
>> varying quantity.  Rural areas are more endowed with local fowl than are
>> suburban areas leading to easier gathering.
>>
>> For instance the nest boxes at the Landis Arboretum  in rural Schoharie
>> Co. with roosters crowing in the distance had much larger gatherings of
>> goose, duck and chicken feathers in general than did the boxes at West
>> Hill, a suburban residential area in the Town of Rotterdam in Sch'dy Co
>> where Great Horned Owl feathers made an almost annual appearance.
>>
>> In some areas the tan body feathers of barnyard geese are very popular,
>> but so can be white feathers from domestic ducks.  Less numerous are flank
>> feathers from male Mallard, Wood Duck and body feathers of Wild Turkey.
>>
>> Some of the rarer choices are from Great Blue Heron, Great Horned Owl
>> (body), No. Saw-whet Owl (primaries) and the strangest of all: Common
>> Nighthawk.  One nest in Montgomery Co contained 5-6 nighthawk feathers
>> including flight feathers (rectrix and wing) suggesting that this swallow
>> had found a dead nighthawk and was harvesting feathers from it.  Nighthawks
>> molt away from  the northeastern U.S. spring nesting season.
>>
>> Feathers, flight and body, from local passerines also show up in these
>> nests on rare occasion.  But far and away, body feathers of barnyard fowl
>> are the most common Tree Swallow nest lining material in these counties.
>>
>> Bob Yunick
>> Schenectady
>>
>>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: Robert Paxton 
>> To: Joseph Wallace 
>> Cc: NYSBIRDS 
>> Sent: Mon, Jun 7, 2021 8:35 am
>> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question
>>
>> Another element to the white feather game. Swallows (especially tree
>> swallows, but perhaps barns too) habitually decorate their nests with white
>> feathers.
>>Bob Paxton
>>
>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 10:04 PM Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>>
>> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t,
>> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
>> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
>> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
>> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
>> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
>> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.
>>
>> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
>> feather, do wide loops around it

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Orhan Birol]

 Dr, Bill Zitek.who single handedly turned around theBluebird nesting
program, I starting eighteen years ago, and has been a beloved veterinarian
for the last forty or so years in the north fork of LI , requested me to
post on his behalf the following:

I could contribute to this but don’t know how to get in to the
conversation. 18 years on our nest box trail at Mashomack produced not only
Eastern Bluebirds but even more Tree Swallows. One of the treats for
volunteers was to watch a feather thrown up into the air and immediately
snapped up by a swooping tree swallow. One time one of our volunteers
brought a friend along, when told of this phenomena with tree swallows, he
scoffed at the idea and net me a lunch that it wouldn’t happen. To be on
the “up and up” I let him flip a white feather up into the air near a  tree
swallow nest box. I ablink a tree swallow swooped in and claimed the
feather and to make sure we understood it’s ability, passed the feather in
mid air to its mate. Our doubter looked rather sheepish realizing his
mis-calculation of tree Swallow prowess. I was ready for a free lunch but
our friend quickly left us when we got back to our drop-off point. As they
say : “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”.
Bill


On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 2:37 PM Joseph Wallace  wrote:

> The choice of what feathers swallows choose, and how they reflect local
> conditions, is another interesting path! Given the size of the feather I
> observed, and the way the mix of fields/lawns and river's edge at Croton
> Point Park attracts Canada Geese, I'd guess that goose down might be a
> popular nest-liner there.
>
> On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 11:41 AM anneboby  wrote:
>
>> Further to Bob Paxton's comment about Tree Swallows' love affair with
>> feather lining of their nests,  I have found these birds very resourceful
>> with their feather gathering depending on the nature of their local
>> habitat.  For years I have monitored nest boxes in Upstate counties of
>> Schenectady, Saratoga, Schoharie and Montgomery.  Depending on location,
>> these swallows gather feathers of a wide range of species, as well as in
>> varying quantity.  Rural areas are more endowed with local fowl than are
>> suburban areas leading to easier gathering.
>>
>> For instance the nest boxes at the Landis Arboretum  in rural Schoharie
>> Co. with roosters crowing in the distance had much larger gatherings of
>> goose, duck and chicken feathers in general than did the boxes at West
>> Hill, a suburban residential area in the Town of Rotterdam in Sch'dy Co
>> where Great Horned Owl feathers made an almost annual appearance.
>>
>> In some areas the tan body feathers of barnyard geese are very popular,
>> but so can be white feathers from domestic ducks.  Less numerous are flank
>> feathers from male Mallard, Wood Duck and body feathers of Wild Turkey.
>>
>> Some of the rarer choices are from Great Blue Heron, Great Horned Owl
>> (body), No. Saw-whet Owl (primaries) and the strangest of all: Common
>> Nighthawk.  One nest in Montgomery Co contained 5-6 nighthawk feathers
>> including flight feathers (rectrix and wing) suggesting that this swallow
>> had found a dead nighthawk and was harvesting feathers from it.  Nighthawks
>> molt away from  the northeastern U.S. spring nesting season.
>>
>> Feathers, flight and body, from local passerines also show up in these
>> nests on rare occasion.  But far and away, body feathers of barnyard fowl
>> are the most common Tree Swallow nest lining material in these counties.
>>
>> Bob Yunick
>> Schenectady
>>
>>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: Robert Paxton 
>> To: Joseph Wallace 
>> Cc: NYSBIRDS 
>> Sent: Mon, Jun 7, 2021 8:35 am
>> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question
>>
>> Another element to the white feather game. Swallows (especially tree
>> swallows, but perhaps barns too) habitually decorate their nests with white
>> feathers.
>>Bob Paxton
>>
>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 10:04 PM Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>>
>> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t,
>> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
>> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
>> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
>> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
>> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
>> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.
>>
>> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
>> feather, do wide loops around it

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Joseph Wallace]

The choice of what feathers swallows choose, and how they reflect local
conditions, is another interesting path! Given the size of the feather I
observed, and the way the mix of fields/lawns and river's edge at Croton
Point Park attracts Canada Geese, I'd guess that goose down might be a
popular nest-liner there.

On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 11:41 AM anneboby  wrote:

> Further to Bob Paxton's comment about Tree Swallows' love affair with
> feather lining of their nests,  I have found these birds very resourceful
> with their feather gathering depending on the nature of their local
> habitat.  For years I have monitored nest boxes in Upstate counties of
> Schenectady, Saratoga, Schoharie and Montgomery.  Depending on location,
> these swallows gather feathers of a wide range of species, as well as in
> varying quantity.  Rural areas are more endowed with local fowl than are
> suburban areas leading to easier gathering.
>
> For instance the nest boxes at the Landis Arboretum  in rural Schoharie
> Co. with roosters crowing in the distance had much larger gatherings of
> goose, duck and chicken feathers in general than did the boxes at West
> Hill, a suburban residential area in the Town of Rotterdam in Sch'dy Co
> where Great Horned Owl feathers made an almost annual appearance.
>
> In some areas the tan body feathers of barnyard geese are very popular,
> but so can be white feathers from domestic ducks.  Less numerous are flank
> feathers from male Mallard, Wood Duck and body feathers of Wild Turkey.
>
> Some of the rarer choices are from Great Blue Heron, Great Horned Owl
> (body), No. Saw-whet Owl (primaries) and the strangest of all: Common
> Nighthawk.  One nest in Montgomery Co contained 5-6 nighthawk feathers
> including flight feathers (rectrix and wing) suggesting that this swallow
> had found a dead nighthawk and was harvesting feathers from it.  Nighthawks
> molt away from  the northeastern U.S. spring nesting season.
>
> Feathers, flight and body, from local passerines also show up in these
> nests on rare occasion.  But far and away, body feathers of barnyard fowl
> are the most common Tree Swallow nest lining material in these counties.
>
> Bob Yunick
> Schenectady
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Robert Paxton 
> To: Joseph Wallace 
> Cc: NYSBIRDS 
> Sent: Mon, Jun 7, 2021 8:35 am
> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question
>
> Another element to the white feather game. Swallows (especially tree
> swallows, but perhaps barns too) habitually decorate their nests with white
> feathers.
>Bob Paxton
>
> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 10:04 PM Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>
> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t,
> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.
>
> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and
> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass,
> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally
> the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
>
> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
> anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this?
> Thanks--Joe Wallace
> --
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Joseph Wallace]

The choice of what feathers swallows choose, and how they reflect local
conditions, is another interesting path! Given the size of the feather I
observed, and the way the mix of fields/lawns and river's edge at Croton
Point Park attracts Canada Geese, I'd guess that goose down might be a
popular nest-liner there.

On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 11:41 AM anneboby  wrote:

> Further to Bob Paxton's comment about Tree Swallows' love affair with
> feather lining of their nests,  I have found these birds very resourceful
> with their feather gathering depending on the nature of their local
> habitat.  For years I have monitored nest boxes in Upstate counties of
> Schenectady, Saratoga, Schoharie and Montgomery.  Depending on location,
> these swallows gather feathers of a wide range of species, as well as in
> varying quantity.  Rural areas are more endowed with local fowl than are
> suburban areas leading to easier gathering.
>
> For instance the nest boxes at the Landis Arboretum  in rural Schoharie
> Co. with roosters crowing in the distance had much larger gatherings of
> goose, duck and chicken feathers in general than did the boxes at West
> Hill, a suburban residential area in the Town of Rotterdam in Sch'dy Co
> where Great Horned Owl feathers made an almost annual appearance.
>
> In some areas the tan body feathers of barnyard geese are very popular,
> but so can be white feathers from domestic ducks.  Less numerous are flank
> feathers from male Mallard, Wood Duck and body feathers of Wild Turkey.
>
> Some of the rarer choices are from Great Blue Heron, Great Horned Owl
> (body), No. Saw-whet Owl (primaries) and the strangest of all: Common
> Nighthawk.  One nest in Montgomery Co contained 5-6 nighthawk feathers
> including flight feathers (rectrix and wing) suggesting that this swallow
> had found a dead nighthawk and was harvesting feathers from it.  Nighthawks
> molt away from  the northeastern U.S. spring nesting season.
>
> Feathers, flight and body, from local passerines also show up in these
> nests on rare occasion.  But far and away, body feathers of barnyard fowl
> are the most common Tree Swallow nest lining material in these counties.
>
> Bob Yunick
> Schenectady
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Robert Paxton 
> To: Joseph Wallace 
> Cc: NYSBIRDS 
> Sent: Mon, Jun 7, 2021 8:35 am
> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question
>
> Another element to the white feather game. Swallows (especially tree
> swallows, but perhaps barns too) habitually decorate their nests with white
> feathers.
>Bob Paxton
>
> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 10:04 PM Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>
> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t,
> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.
>
> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and
> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass,
> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally
> the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
>
> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
> anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this?
> Thanks--Joe Wallace
> --
> *NYSbirds-L List Info:*
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[anneboby]

Further to Bob Paxton's comment about Tree Swallows' love affair with feather 
lining of their nests,  I have found these birds very resourceful with their 
feather gathering depending on the nature of their local habitat.  For years I 
have monitored nest boxes in Upstate counties of Schenectady, Saratoga, 
Schoharie and Montgomery.  Depending on location, these swallows gather 
feathers of a wide range of species, as well as in varying quantity.  Rural 
areas are more endowed with local fowl than are suburban areas leading to 
easier gathering.
For instance the nest boxes at the Landis Arboretum  in rural Schoharie Co. 
with roosters crowing in the distance had much larger gatherings of goose, duck 
and chicken feathers in general than did the boxes at West Hill, a suburban 
residential area in the Town of Rotterdam in Sch'dy Co where Great Horned Owl 
feathers made an almost annual appearance.

In some areas the tan body feathers of barnyard geese are very popular, but so 
can be white feathers from domestic ducks.  Less numerous are flank feathers 
from male Mallard, Wood Duck and body feathers of Wild Turkey.
Some of the rarer choices are from Great Blue Heron, Great Horned Owl (body), 
No. Saw-whet Owl (primaries) and the strangest of all: Common Nighthawk.  One 
nest in Montgomery Co contained 5-6 nighthawk feathers including flight 
feathers (rectrix and wing) suggesting that this swallow had found a dead 
nighthawk and was harvesting feathers from it.  Nighthawks molt away from  the 
northeastern U.S. spring nesting season.
Feathers, flight and body, from local passerines also show up in these nests on 
rare occasion.  But far and away, body feathers of barnyard fowl are the most 
common Tree Swallow nest lining material in these counties.
Bob YunickSchenectady


-Original Message-
From: Robert Paxton 
To: Joseph Wallace 
Cc: NYSBIRDS 
Sent: Mon, Jun 7, 2021 8:35 am
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

Another element to the white feather game. Swallows (especially tree swallows, 
but perhaps barns too) habitually decorate their nests with white feathers.    
Bob Paxton
On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 10:04 PM Joseph Wallace  wrote:

This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but I 
watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton Point Park 
in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white drifting slowly 
towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I focused on it, a Barn 
Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I expected the bird to head 
off to its nest, but instead it dropped the feather...and then circled and 
snatched it out of the air again. 

For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the feather, 
do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and then pluck it 
out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, retrieving it once 
while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally the swallow did head 
off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was anything 
else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? Thanks--Joe 
Wallace --  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!  --
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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[anneboby]

Further to Bob Paxton's comment about Tree Swallows' love affair with feather 
lining of their nests,  I have found these birds very resourceful with their 
feather gathering depending on the nature of their local habitat.  For years I 
have monitored nest boxes in Upstate counties of Schenectady, Saratoga, 
Schoharie and Montgomery.  Depending on location, these swallows gather 
feathers of a wide range of species, as well as in varying quantity.  Rural 
areas are more endowed with local fowl than are suburban areas leading to 
easier gathering.
For instance the nest boxes at the Landis Arboretum  in rural Schoharie Co. 
with roosters crowing in the distance had much larger gatherings of goose, duck 
and chicken feathers in general than did the boxes at West Hill, a suburban 
residential area in the Town of Rotterdam in Sch'dy Co where Great Horned Owl 
feathers made an almost annual appearance.

In some areas the tan body feathers of barnyard geese are very popular, but so 
can be white feathers from domestic ducks.  Less numerous are flank feathers 
from male Mallard, Wood Duck and body feathers of Wild Turkey.
Some of the rarer choices are from Great Blue Heron, Great Horned Owl (body), 
No. Saw-whet Owl (primaries) and the strangest of all: Common Nighthawk.  One 
nest in Montgomery Co contained 5-6 nighthawk feathers including flight 
feathers (rectrix and wing) suggesting that this swallow had found a dead 
nighthawk and was harvesting feathers from it.  Nighthawks molt away from  the 
northeastern U.S. spring nesting season.
Feathers, flight and body, from local passerines also show up in these nests on 
rare occasion.  But far and away, body feathers of barnyard fowl are the most 
common Tree Swallow nest lining material in these counties.
Bob YunickSchenectady


-Original Message-
From: Robert Paxton 
To: Joseph Wallace 
Cc: NYSBIRDS 
Sent: Mon, Jun 7, 2021 8:35 am
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

Another element to the white feather game. Swallows (especially tree swallows, 
but perhaps barns too) habitually decorate their nests with white feathers.    
Bob Paxton
On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 10:04 PM Joseph Wallace  wrote:

This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but I 
watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton Point Park 
in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white drifting slowly 
towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I focused on it, a Barn 
Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I expected the bird to head 
off to its nest, but instead it dropped the feather...and then circled and 
snatched it out of the air again. 

For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the feather, 
do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and then pluck it 
out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, retrieving it once 
while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally the swallow did head 
off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was anything 
else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? Thanks--Joe 
Wallace --  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!  --
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 Please submit your observations to eBird!  --
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Jane Ross]

We usually have 9 or 10  pairs of tree swallows nesting in boxes in our yard. 
Several years ago I purchased a down pillow just for them, and toss some 
feathers in the air for them once they begin to settle on houses (after an 
initial period of fairly violent arguing over housing rights...we are in East 
Hampton, after all) They catch the feathers in the air, or swoop to snatch them 
off the ground, and yes, often do seem to be playing...dropping the feathers 
from high up and then flying low to grab them again.  I'm always amazed when I 
clean out the nests after fledging to see the impressive size of some of the 
white feathers they have managed to collect for the nests,  some from sea gulls 
I imagine, as well as some of the ones I have provided.


Jane F. Ross, PhD
Cove Hollow Farm, East Hampton, NY
mobile: 917-992-6708




From: bounce-125693328-3714...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Bruce Horwith 

Sent: Tuesday, June 8, 2021 6:17 AM
To: Deborah Shapiro 
Cc: Joseph Wallace ; nysbirds-l 
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

And Carl Safina's Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel explores this 
dimension for the wider animal kingdom.

Bruce Horwith
16 Salt Marsh Path
East Hampton, NY 11937
(631) 599-0040 cell phone


On Mon, Jun 7, 2021 at 10:01 PM Deborah Shapiro 
mailto:dsni...@gmail.com>> wrote:
We underestimate the mental capacity of birds. While I don’t recall that she 
discusses playful behavior, Jennifer Ackerman’s book The Genius of Birds gives 
many examples of bird cognition that are fascinated and unexpected.

Great discussion.

Deborah

On Jun 7, 2021, at 9:46 PM, Joseph Wallace 
mailto:joew...@gmail.com>> wrote:


Thanks, everyone for the ongoing conversation. This is all so fascinating. 
Corvids and parrots have been known as game-players (and tricksters) for a long 
time, and it doesn't surprise me that gulls, already adept at a creative kind 
of tool-using (stationery rocks to drop clams on), might also turn objects into 
toys. But swallows did surprise me...and made me wonder what other 
species/families might engage in play.  Warblers? Gnatcatchers? It's hard for 
me to visualize, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Thanks again for making such thoughts possible--Joe
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Jane Ross]

We usually have 9 or 10  pairs of tree swallows nesting in boxes in our yard. 
Several years ago I purchased a down pillow just for them, and toss some 
feathers in the air for them once they begin to settle on houses (after an 
initial period of fairly violent arguing over housing rights...we are in East 
Hampton, after all) They catch the feathers in the air, or swoop to snatch them 
off the ground, and yes, often do seem to be playing...dropping the feathers 
from high up and then flying low to grab them again.  I'm always amazed when I 
clean out the nests after fledging to see the impressive size of some of the 
white feathers they have managed to collect for the nests,  some from sea gulls 
I imagine, as well as some of the ones I have provided.


Jane F. Ross, PhD
Cove Hollow Farm, East Hampton, NY
mobile: 917-992-6708




From: bounce-125693328-3714...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Bruce Horwith 

Sent: Tuesday, June 8, 2021 6:17 AM
To: Deborah Shapiro 
Cc: Joseph Wallace ; nysbirds-l 
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

And Carl Safina's Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel explores this 
dimension for the wider animal kingdom.

Bruce Horwith
16 Salt Marsh Path
East Hampton, NY 11937
(631) 599-0040 cell phone


On Mon, Jun 7, 2021 at 10:01 PM Deborah Shapiro 
mailto:dsni...@gmail.com>> wrote:
We underestimate the mental capacity of birds. While I don’t recall that she 
discusses playful behavior, Jennifer Ackerman’s book The Genius of Birds gives 
many examples of bird cognition that are fascinated and unexpected.

Great discussion.

Deborah

On Jun 7, 2021, at 9:46 PM, Joseph Wallace 
mailto:joew...@gmail.com>> wrote:


Thanks, everyone for the ongoing conversation. This is all so fascinating. 
Corvids and parrots have been known as game-players (and tricksters) for a long 
time, and it doesn't surprise me that gulls, already adept at a creative kind 
of tool-using (stationery rocks to drop clams on), might also turn objects into 
toys. But swallows did surprise me...and made me wonder what other 
species/families might engage in play.  Warblers? Gnatcatchers? It's hard for 
me to visualize, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Thanks again for making such thoughts possible--Joe
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Orhan Birol]

About a dozen winters ago, when we had heavy accumulation of snow, I
observed three American Crows ski down from the top of a 20ft Blue Spruce,
fly back up  and ski down.
But the most unusual observation of playful or insane behavior was of a
female Baltimore Oriole's on the Hummingbird feeder.
I had a Hummingbird feeder since 1987, never had I seen an oriole on it.
This year in May I have seen a Male and Female Baltimore oriole use the
feeder 90% of the time to 10% for the hummingbird.
But the strange behavior was, when the female would take a few sips, would
fly away to the same spot 5ft away on the gutter and return immediately to
the feeder.
This would be repeated ten times within a minute or two. Playful or
intoxicated??
Orhan Birol
Shelter Island

On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 6:18 AM Bruce Horwith 
wrote:

> And Carl Safina's Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel explores this
> dimension for the wider animal kingdom.
>
> *Bruce Horwith*
> *16 Salt Marsh Path*
> *East Hampton, NY 11937*
> *(631) 599-0040 cell phone*
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 7, 2021 at 10:01 PM Deborah Shapiro  wrote:
>
>> We underestimate the mental capacity of birds. While I don’t recall that
>> she discusses playful behavior, Jennifer Ackerman’s book The Genius of
>> Birds gives many examples of bird cognition that are fascinated and
>> unexpected.
>>
>> Great discussion.
>>
>> Deborah
>>
>> On Jun 7, 2021, at 9:46 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>>
>> 
>> Thanks, everyone for the ongoing conversation. This is all so
>> fascinating. Corvids and parrots have been known as game-players (and
>> tricksters) for a long time, and it doesn't surprise me that gulls, already
>> adept at a creative kind of tool-using (stationery rocks to drop clams on),
>> might also turn objects into toys. But swallows did surprise me...and made
>> me wonder what other species/families might engage in play.  Warblers?
>> Gnatcatchers? It's hard for me to visualize, but that doesn't mean it can't
>> happen.
>>
>> Thanks again for making such thoughts possible--Joe
>> --
>> *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*
>> *!*
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>>
>> --
>> *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:*
> Welcome and Basics 
> Rules and Information 
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
> 
> *Archives:*
> The Mail Archive
> 
> Surfbirds 
> ABA 
> *Please submit your observations to **eBird*
> *!*
> --
>

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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Orhan Birol]

About a dozen winters ago, when we had heavy accumulation of snow, I
observed three American Crows ski down from the top of a 20ft Blue Spruce,
fly back up  and ski down.
But the most unusual observation of playful or insane behavior was of a
female Baltimore Oriole's on the Hummingbird feeder.
I had a Hummingbird feeder since 1987, never had I seen an oriole on it.
This year in May I have seen a Male and Female Baltimore oriole use the
feeder 90% of the time to 10% for the hummingbird.
But the strange behavior was, when the female would take a few sips, would
fly away to the same spot 5ft away on the gutter and return immediately to
the feeder.
This would be repeated ten times within a minute or two. Playful or
intoxicated??
Orhan Birol
Shelter Island

On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 6:18 AM Bruce Horwith 
wrote:

> And Carl Safina's Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel explores this
> dimension for the wider animal kingdom.
>
> *Bruce Horwith*
> *16 Salt Marsh Path*
> *East Hampton, NY 11937*
> *(631) 599-0040 cell phone*
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 7, 2021 at 10:01 PM Deborah Shapiro  wrote:
>
>> We underestimate the mental capacity of birds. While I don’t recall that
>> she discusses playful behavior, Jennifer Ackerman’s book The Genius of
>> Birds gives many examples of bird cognition that are fascinated and
>> unexpected.
>>
>> Great discussion.
>>
>> Deborah
>>
>> On Jun 7, 2021, at 9:46 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>>
>> 
>> Thanks, everyone for the ongoing conversation. This is all so
>> fascinating. Corvids and parrots have been known as game-players (and
>> tricksters) for a long time, and it doesn't surprise me that gulls, already
>> adept at a creative kind of tool-using (stationery rocks to drop clams on),
>> might also turn objects into toys. But swallows did surprise me...and made
>> me wonder what other species/families might engage in play.  Warblers?
>> Gnatcatchers? It's hard for me to visualize, but that doesn't mean it can't
>> happen.
>>
>> Thanks again for making such thoughts possible--Joe
>> --
>> *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:*
>> 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:*
> Welcome and Basics 
> Rules and Information 
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
> 
> *Archives:*
> The Mail Archive
> 
> Surfbirds 
> ABA 
> *Please submit your observations to **eBird*
> *!*
> --
>

--

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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Bob Grover]

Also try Becoming Wild. Same author

Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>

From: bounce-125693328-3714...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Bruce Horwith 

Sent: Tuesday, June 8, 2021 6:17:29 AM
To: Deborah Shapiro 
Cc: Joseph Wallace ; nysbirds-l 
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

And Carl Safina's Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel explores this 
dimension for the wider animal kingdom.

Bruce Horwith
16 Salt Marsh Path
East Hampton, NY 11937
(631) 599-0040 cell phone


On Mon, Jun 7, 2021 at 10:01 PM Deborah Shapiro 
mailto:dsni...@gmail.com>> wrote:
We underestimate the mental capacity of birds. While I don’t recall that she 
discusses playful behavior, Jennifer Ackerman’s book The Genius of Birds gives 
many examples of bird cognition that are fascinated and unexpected.

Great discussion.

Deborah

On Jun 7, 2021, at 9:46 PM, Joseph Wallace 
mailto:joew...@gmail.com>> wrote:


Thanks, everyone for the ongoing conversation. This is all so fascinating. 
Corvids and parrots have been known as game-players (and tricksters) for a long 
time, and it doesn't surprise me that gulls, already adept at a creative kind 
of tool-using (stationery rocks to drop clams on), might also turn objects into 
toys. But swallows did surprise me...and made me wonder what other 
species/families might engage in play.  Warblers? Gnatcatchers? It's hard for 
me to visualize, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Thanks again for making such thoughts possible--Joe
--
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Bob Grover]

Also try Becoming Wild. Same author

Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>

From: bounce-125693328-3714...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Bruce Horwith 

Sent: Tuesday, June 8, 2021 6:17:29 AM
To: Deborah Shapiro 
Cc: Joseph Wallace ; nysbirds-l 
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

And Carl Safina's Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel explores this 
dimension for the wider animal kingdom.

Bruce Horwith
16 Salt Marsh Path
East Hampton, NY 11937
(631) 599-0040 cell phone


On Mon, Jun 7, 2021 at 10:01 PM Deborah Shapiro 
mailto:dsni...@gmail.com>> wrote:
We underestimate the mental capacity of birds. While I don’t recall that she 
discusses playful behavior, Jennifer Ackerman’s book The Genius of Birds gives 
many examples of bird cognition that are fascinated and unexpected.

Great discussion.

Deborah

On Jun 7, 2021, at 9:46 PM, Joseph Wallace 
mailto:joew...@gmail.com>> wrote:


Thanks, everyone for the ongoing conversation. This is all so fascinating. 
Corvids and parrots have been known as game-players (and tricksters) for a long 
time, and it doesn't surprise me that gulls, already adept at a creative kind 
of tool-using (stationery rocks to drop clams on), might also turn objects into 
toys. But swallows did surprise me...and made me wonder what other 
species/families might engage in play.  Warblers? Gnatcatchers? It's hard for 
me to visualize, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Thanks again for making such thoughts possible--Joe
--
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Bruce Horwith]

And Carl Safina's Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel explores this
dimension for the wider animal kingdom.

*Bruce Horwith*
*16 Salt Marsh Path*
*East Hampton, NY 11937*
*(631) 599-0040 cell phone*


On Mon, Jun 7, 2021 at 10:01 PM Deborah Shapiro  wrote:

> We underestimate the mental capacity of birds. While I don’t recall that
> she discusses playful behavior, Jennifer Ackerman’s book The Genius of
> Birds gives many examples of bird cognition that are fascinated and
> unexpected.
>
> Great discussion.
>
> Deborah
>
> On Jun 7, 2021, at 9:46 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>
> 
> Thanks, everyone for the ongoing conversation. This is all so fascinating.
> Corvids and parrots have been known as game-players (and tricksters) for a
> long time, and it doesn't surprise me that gulls, already adept at a
> creative kind of tool-using (stationery rocks to drop clams on), might also
> turn objects into toys. But swallows did surprise me...and made me wonder
> what other species/families might engage in play.  Warblers? Gnatcatchers?
> It's hard for me to visualize, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.
>
> Thanks again for making such thoughts possible--Joe
> --
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Bruce Horwith]

And Carl Safina's Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel explores this
dimension for the wider animal kingdom.

*Bruce Horwith*
*16 Salt Marsh Path*
*East Hampton, NY 11937*
*(631) 599-0040 cell phone*


On Mon, Jun 7, 2021 at 10:01 PM Deborah Shapiro  wrote:

> We underestimate the mental capacity of birds. While I don’t recall that
> she discusses playful behavior, Jennifer Ackerman’s book The Genius of
> Birds gives many examples of bird cognition that are fascinated and
> unexpected.
>
> Great discussion.
>
> Deborah
>
> On Jun 7, 2021, at 9:46 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>
> 
> Thanks, everyone for the ongoing conversation. This is all so fascinating.
> Corvids and parrots have been known as game-players (and tricksters) for a
> long time, and it doesn't surprise me that gulls, already adept at a
> creative kind of tool-using (stationery rocks to drop clams on), might also
> turn objects into toys. But swallows did surprise me...and made me wonder
> what other species/families might engage in play.  Warblers? Gnatcatchers?
> It's hard for me to visualize, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.
>
> Thanks again for making such thoughts possible--Joe
> --
> *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:*
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> Rules and Information 
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
> 
> *Archives:*
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> 
> Surfbirds 
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Deborah Shapiro]

We underestimate the mental capacity of birds. While I don’t recall that she 
discusses playful behavior, Jennifer Ackerman’s book The Genius of Birds gives 
many examples of bird cognition that are fascinated and unexpected. 

Great discussion. 

Deborah 

> On Jun 7, 2021, at 9:46 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
> 
> 
> Thanks, everyone for the ongoing conversation. This is all so fascinating. 
> Corvids and parrots have been known as game-players (and tricksters) for a 
> long time, and it doesn't surprise me that gulls, already adept at a creative 
> kind of tool-using (stationery rocks to drop clams on), might also turn 
> objects into toys. But swallows did surprise me...and made me wonder what 
> other species/families might engage in play.  Warblers? Gnatcatchers? It's 
> hard for me to visualize, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. 
> 
> Thanks again for making such thoughts possible--Joe
> --
> 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!
> --

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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Deborah Shapiro]

We underestimate the mental capacity of birds. While I don’t recall that she 
discusses playful behavior, Jennifer Ackerman’s book The Genius of Birds gives 
many examples of bird cognition that are fascinated and unexpected. 

Great discussion. 

Deborah 

> On Jun 7, 2021, at 9:46 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
> 
> 
> Thanks, everyone for the ongoing conversation. This is all so fascinating. 
> Corvids and parrots have been known as game-players (and tricksters) for a 
> long time, and it doesn't surprise me that gulls, already adept at a creative 
> kind of tool-using (stationery rocks to drop clams on), might also turn 
> objects into toys. But swallows did surprise me...and made me wonder what 
> other species/families might engage in play.  Warblers? Gnatcatchers? It's 
> hard for me to visualize, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. 
> 
> Thanks again for making such thoughts possible--Joe
> --
> 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!
> --

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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Joseph Wallace]

Thanks, everyone for the ongoing conversation. This is all so fascinating.
Corvids and parrots have been known as game-players (and tricksters) for a
long time, and it doesn't surprise me that gulls, already adept at a
creative kind of tool-using (stationery rocks to drop clams on), might also
turn objects into toys. But swallows did surprise me...and made me wonder
what other species/families might engage in play.  Warblers? Gnatcatchers?
It's hard for me to visualize, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Thanks again for making such thoughts possible--Joe

--

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Joseph Wallace]

Thanks, everyone for the ongoing conversation. This is all so fascinating.
Corvids and parrots have been known as game-players (and tricksters) for a
long time, and it doesn't surprise me that gulls, already adept at a
creative kind of tool-using (stationery rocks to drop clams on), might also
turn objects into toys. But swallows did surprise me...and made me wonder
what other species/families might engage in play.  Warblers? Gnatcatchers?
It's hard for me to visualize, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Thanks again for making such thoughts possible--Joe

--

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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RE: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[rcech]

Anyone interested in this species should read Bernd Heinrich’s “Ravens in 
Winter,” a monumental field research triumph.

 

These are fascinating and complex birds,

Rick Cech

 

From: bounce-125691097-3714...@list.cornell.edu 
 On Behalf Of Naomi Lloyd
Sent: Monday, June 7, 2021 4:25 PM
To: Joseph Wallace ; NYSbirds-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

 

I've watched a pair of Ravens engage in "the stick game" - one drops a stick or 
pine cone in flight, the other catches it then gains elevation and drops it to 
their partner, accompanied by lots of vocalizations. Probably has pair-bonding 
aspects but it sure looks like they enjoy it.

Naomi Lloyd
West Sand Lake



On June 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace mailto:joew...@gmail.com> > wrote:



This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but I 
watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton Point Park 
in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white drifting slowly 
towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I focused on it, a Barn 
Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I expected the bird to head 
off to its nest, but instead it dropped the feather...and then circled and 
snatched it out of the air again. 

For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the feather, 
do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and then pluck it 
out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, retrieving it once 
while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally the swallow did head 
off, I imagine to line its nest at last.

 

I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was anything 
else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? Thanks--Joe 
Wallace

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RE: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[rcech]

Anyone interested in this species should read Bernd Heinrich’s “Ravens in 
Winter,” a monumental field research triumph.

 

These are fascinating and complex birds,

Rick Cech

 

From: bounce-125691097-3714...@list.cornell.edu 
 On Behalf Of Naomi Lloyd
Sent: Monday, June 7, 2021 4:25 PM
To: Joseph Wallace ; NYSbirds-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

 

I've watched a pair of Ravens engage in "the stick game" - one drops a stick or 
pine cone in flight, the other catches it then gains elevation and drops it to 
their partner, accompanied by lots of vocalizations. Probably has pair-bonding 
aspects but it sure looks like they enjoy it.

Naomi Lloyd
West Sand Lake



On June 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace mailto:joew...@gmail.com> > wrote:



This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but I 
watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton Point Park 
in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white drifting slowly 
towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I focused on it, a Barn 
Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I expected the bird to head 
off to its nest, but instead it dropped the feather...and then circled and 
snatched it out of the air again. 

For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the feather, 
do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and then pluck it 
out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, retrieving it once 
while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally the swallow did head 
off, I imagine to line its nest at last.

 

I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was anything 
else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? Thanks--Joe 
Wallace

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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Nancy Jane Kern]

I have seen this Raven activity too.

Nancy


From: bounce-125691097-44613...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Naomi Lloyd 

Sent: Monday, June 7, 2021 4:25 PM
To: Joseph Wallace ; NYSbirds-L@cornell.edu 

Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question


I've watched a pair of Ravens engage in "the stick game" - one drops a stick or 
pine cone in flight, the other catches it then gains elevation and drops it to 
their partner, accompanied by lots of vocalizations. Probably has pair-bonding 
aspects but it sure looks like they enjoy it.

Naomi Lloyd
West Sand Lake


On June 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:


This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but I 
watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton Point Park 
in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white drifting slowly 
towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I focused on it, a Barn 
Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I expected the bird to head 
off to its nest, but instead it dropped the feather...and then circled and 
snatched it out of the air again.

For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the feather, 
do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and then pluck it 
out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, retrieving it once 
while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally the swallow did head 
off, I imagine to line its nest at last.

I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was anything 
else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? Thanks--Joe 
Wallace
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Nancy Jane Kern]

I have seen this Raven activity too.

Nancy


From: bounce-125691097-44613...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Naomi Lloyd 

Sent: Monday, June 7, 2021 4:25 PM
To: Joseph Wallace ; NYSbirds-L@cornell.edu 

Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question


I've watched a pair of Ravens engage in "the stick game" - one drops a stick or 
pine cone in flight, the other catches it then gains elevation and drops it to 
their partner, accompanied by lots of vocalizations. Probably has pair-bonding 
aspects but it sure looks like they enjoy it.

Naomi Lloyd
West Sand Lake


On June 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:


This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but I 
watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton Point Park 
in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white drifting slowly 
towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I focused on it, a Barn 
Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I expected the bird to head 
off to its nest, but instead it dropped the feather...and then circled and 
snatched it out of the air again.

For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the feather, 
do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and then pluck it 
out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, retrieving it once 
while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally the swallow did head 
off, I imagine to line its nest at last.

I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was anything 
else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? Thanks--Joe 
Wallace
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Naomi Lloyd]

I've watched a pair of Ravens engage in "the stick game" - one drops a stick or 
pine cone in flight, the other catches it then gains elevation and drops it to 
their partner, accompanied by lots of vocalizations. Probably has pair-bonding 
aspects but it sure looks like they enjoy it.

Naomi Lloyd
West Sand Lake

On June 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:

This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but I 
watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton Point Park 
in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white drifting slowly 
towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I focused on it, a Barn 
Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I expected the bird to head 
off to its nest, but instead it dropped the feather...and then circled and 
snatched it out of the air again. 

For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the feather, 
do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and then pluck it 
out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, retrieving it once 
while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally the swallow did head 
off, I imagine to line its nest at last.


I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was anything 
else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? Thanks--Joe 
Wallace

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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Naomi Lloyd]

I've watched a pair of Ravens engage in "the stick game" - one drops a stick or 
pine cone in flight, the other catches it then gains elevation and drops it to 
their partner, accompanied by lots of vocalizations. Probably has pair-bonding 
aspects but it sure looks like they enjoy it.

Naomi Lloyd
West Sand Lake

On June 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:

This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but I 
watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton Point Park 
in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white drifting slowly 
towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I focused on it, a Barn 
Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I expected the bird to head 
off to its nest, but instead it dropped the feather...and then circled and 
snatched it out of the air again. 

For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the feather, 
do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and then pluck it 
out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, retrieving it once 
while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally the swallow did head 
off, I imagine to line its nest at last.


I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was anything 
else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? Thanks--Joe 
Wallace

--



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Rules and Information 



Subscribe, Configuration and Leave



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Please submit your observations to eBird!



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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Jennifer Wilson-Pines]

On the subject of play, I've seen young squirrels playing with small
sticks, tossing them in the sir, catching them, rolling around with the
stick, and I can't really think of a practical application to squirrel life
skills for that behavior other than fun.  And we've all seen the video of
the crow sliding down the snowy roof on a plastic lid "sled" (and if you
haven't, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn0OjCneVUg  )

Jennifer Wilson Pines

On Mon, Jun 7, 2021 at 10:00 AM Peter Post  wrote:

> I for one would like to see more of this sort of thing kn NYSBirds. There
> are many such observations that go unrecorded. This is a perfect place for
> it.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 7, 2021, at 8:24 AM, Cappello, Adriana R (DEC) <
> adriana.cappe...@dec.ny.gov> wrote:
>
> 
> I thoroughly enjoyed this thread- thank you for sharing!! 
>
>
>
> *Addie Cappello*
>
> Wildlife Technician, Division of Fish and Wildlife
>
> Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
>
>
>
> *New York State Department of Environmental Conservation*
>
> 50 Circle Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790
>
> P: (631) 444-0310  |  P: (631) 924-3156 |  adriana.cappe...@dec.ny.gov
>
> www.dec.ny.gov | [image: 13898AF0] <https://www.facebook.com/NYSDEC> | [image:
> 48545E7E] <https://twitter.com/NYSDEC> | [image: F510F3C]
> <https://www.instagram.com/nysdec/>
>
>
>
> [image: F73604AA]
>
>
>
>
> --
> *From:* bounce-125688380-83014...@list.cornell.edu <
> bounce-125688380-83014...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Joseph Wallace <
> joew...@gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Sunday, June 6, 2021 12:07 PM
> *To:* Shane Blodgett 
> *Cc:* Brendan Fogarty ; Ardith Bondi <
> ard...@earthlink.net>; nysbirds-l@cornell.edu 
> *Subject:* Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question
>
>
> *ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open
> attachments or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.*
>
> Thanks, Shane. I guess that's long been debated (e.g., do cats play?),
> since almost all forms of play also have a "practice" aspect. I was telling
> my swallow story to a friend in the D.C. area, and he described a pair of
> foxes who had a den near his backyard. The kits would come out in the early
> morning and play with the balls my friend's family had left in the
> yard...but the play was pouncing, chasing etc. So I'd like to believe it
> can be both.
>
> Hope it's okay to continue this conversation here. (I find it
> fascinating!) I/we can take it private if it's taking up too much space.
> --Joe
>
> On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 11:49 AM Shane Blodgett 
> wrote:
>
> For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just
> for “fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.”
>
> Regards,
> Shane Blodgett
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>
> 
> Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the
> references. I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I
> watched varied its game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice
> it flew almost straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the
> ground before releasing the feather.
>
> I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a
> large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down
> feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a
> denser one.
>
> I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next
> piece will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
> Joe
>
> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty  wrote:
>
> Joseph and all,
>
> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in
> person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from
> Birds of the World online.
>
> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white
> feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it
> reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same
> behavior (2)."
>
> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British
> Birds 83:239
>
> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In
> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and
> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx
> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
>
> Best,
> Brendan Fogarty
>
>
> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi  wrote:
>
> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a
> Tree Swallow at Oceanside Mar

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Jennifer Wilson-Pines]

On the subject of play, I've seen young squirrels playing with small
sticks, tossing them in the sir, catching them, rolling around with the
stick, and I can't really think of a practical application to squirrel life
skills for that behavior other than fun.  And we've all seen the video of
the crow sliding down the snowy roof on a plastic lid "sled" (and if you
haven't, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn0OjCneVUg  )

Jennifer Wilson Pines

On Mon, Jun 7, 2021 at 10:00 AM Peter Post  wrote:

> I for one would like to see more of this sort of thing kn NYSBirds. There
> are many such observations that go unrecorded. This is a perfect place for
> it.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 7, 2021, at 8:24 AM, Cappello, Adriana R (DEC) <
> adriana.cappe...@dec.ny.gov> wrote:
>
> 
> I thoroughly enjoyed this thread- thank you for sharing!! 
>
>
>
> *Addie Cappello*
>
> Wildlife Technician, Division of Fish and Wildlife
>
> Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
>
>
>
> *New York State Department of Environmental Conservation*
>
> 50 Circle Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790
>
> P: (631) 444-0310  |  P: (631) 924-3156 |  adriana.cappe...@dec.ny.gov
>
> www.dec.ny.gov | [image: 13898AF0] <https://www.facebook.com/NYSDEC> | [image:
> 48545E7E] <https://twitter.com/NYSDEC> | [image: F510F3C]
> <https://www.instagram.com/nysdec/>
>
>
>
> [image: F73604AA]
>
>
>
>
> --
> *From:* bounce-125688380-83014...@list.cornell.edu <
> bounce-125688380-83014...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Joseph Wallace <
> joew...@gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Sunday, June 6, 2021 12:07 PM
> *To:* Shane Blodgett 
> *Cc:* Brendan Fogarty ; Ardith Bondi <
> ard...@earthlink.net>; nysbirds-l@cornell.edu 
> *Subject:* Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question
>
>
> *ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open
> attachments or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.*
>
> Thanks, Shane. I guess that's long been debated (e.g., do cats play?),
> since almost all forms of play also have a "practice" aspect. I was telling
> my swallow story to a friend in the D.C. area, and he described a pair of
> foxes who had a den near his backyard. The kits would come out in the early
> morning and play with the balls my friend's family had left in the
> yard...but the play was pouncing, chasing etc. So I'd like to believe it
> can be both.
>
> Hope it's okay to continue this conversation here. (I find it
> fascinating!) I/we can take it private if it's taking up too much space.
> --Joe
>
> On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 11:49 AM Shane Blodgett 
> wrote:
>
> For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just
> for “fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.”
>
> Regards,
> Shane Blodgett
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>
> 
> Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the
> references. I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I
> watched varied its game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice
> it flew almost straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the
> ground before releasing the feather.
>
> I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a
> large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down
> feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a
> denser one.
>
> I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next
> piece will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
> Joe
>
> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty  wrote:
>
> Joseph and all,
>
> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in
> person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from
> Birds of the World online.
>
> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white
> feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it
> reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same
> behavior (2)."
>
> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British
> Birds 83:239
>
> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In
> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and
> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx
> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
>
> Best,
> Brendan Fogarty
>
>
> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi  wrote:
>
> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a
> Tree Swallow at Oceanside Mar

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Richard Guthrie]

Yes, I am enjoying this discussion. 

I’ve watched young gulls (both Herring and Great Black-backed)  doing pretty 
much the same thing with sticks, especially on a windy day. 

Rich Guthrie 

> On Jun 7, 2021, at 10:00 AM, Peter Post  wrote:
> 
> I for one would like to see more of this sort of thing kn NYSBirds. There 
> are many such observations that go unrecorded. This is a perfect place for 
> it. 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>>> On Jun 7, 2021, at 8:24 AM, Cappello, Adriana R (DEC) 
>>>  wrote:
>>> 
>> 
>> I thoroughly enjoyed this thread- thank you for sharing!! 
>> 
>>  
>> Addie Cappello
>> Wildlife Technician, Division of Fish and Wildlife
>> Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
>>  
>> New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
>> 50 Circle Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790
>> P: (631) 444-0310  |  P: (631) 924-3156 |  adriana.cappe...@dec.ny.gov
>> www.dec.ny.gov |  |  | 
>>  
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> From: bounce-125688380-83014...@list.cornell.edu 
>>  on behalf of Joseph Wallace 
>> 
>> Sent: Sunday, June 6, 2021 12:07 PM
>> To: Shane Blodgett 
>> Cc: Brendan Fogarty ; Ardith Bondi 
>> ; nysbirds-l@cornell.edu 
>> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question
>>  
>> ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments 
>> or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.
>> 
>> 
>> Thanks, Shane. I guess that's long been debated (e.g., do cats play?), since 
>> almost all forms of play also have a "practice" aspect. I was telling my 
>> swallow story to a friend in the D.C. area, and he described a pair of foxes 
>> who had a den near his backyard. The kits would come out in the early 
>> morning and play with the balls my friend's family had left in the 
>> yard...but the play was pouncing, chasing etc. So I'd like to believe it can 
>> be both. 
>> 
>> Hope it's okay to continue this conversation here. (I find it fascinating!) 
>> I/we can take it private if it's taking up too much space.
>> --Joe
>> 
>> On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 11:49 AM Shane Blodgett  
>> wrote:
>> For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just for 
>> “fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.” 
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Shane Blodgett
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the 
>>> references. I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I 
>>> watched varied its game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice 
>>> it flew almost straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the 
>>> ground before releasing the feather. 
>>> 
>>> I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a 
>>> large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down 
>>> feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a 
>>> denser one.
>>> 
>>> I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next piece 
>>> will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
>>> Joe
>>> 
>>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty  wrote:
>>> Joseph and all,
>>> 
>>> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in 
>>> person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from 
>>> Birds of the World online. 
>>> 
>>> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white 
>>> feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it 
>>> reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same behavior 
>>> (2)."
>>> 
>>> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British 
>>> Birds 83:239
>>> 
>>> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In 
>>> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and 
>>> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx 
>>> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
>>> 
>>> Best,
>>> Brendan Fogarty
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi  wrote:
>>> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a 
>>> Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last 
>>

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Richard Guthrie]

Yes, I am enjoying this discussion. 

I’ve watched young gulls (both Herring and Great Black-backed)  doing pretty 
much the same thing with sticks, especially on a windy day. 

Rich Guthrie 

> On Jun 7, 2021, at 10:00 AM, Peter Post  wrote:
> 
> I for one would like to see more of this sort of thing kn NYSBirds. There 
> are many such observations that go unrecorded. This is a perfect place for 
> it. 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>>> On Jun 7, 2021, at 8:24 AM, Cappello, Adriana R (DEC) 
>>>  wrote:
>>> 
>> 
>> I thoroughly enjoyed this thread- thank you for sharing!! 
>> 
>>  
>> Addie Cappello
>> Wildlife Technician, Division of Fish and Wildlife
>> Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
>>  
>> New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
>> 50 Circle Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790
>> P: (631) 444-0310  |  P: (631) 924-3156 |  adriana.cappe...@dec.ny.gov
>> www.dec.ny.gov |  |  | 
>>  
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> From: bounce-125688380-83014...@list.cornell.edu 
>>  on behalf of Joseph Wallace 
>> 
>> Sent: Sunday, June 6, 2021 12:07 PM
>> To: Shane Blodgett 
>> Cc: Brendan Fogarty ; Ardith Bondi 
>> ; nysbirds-l@cornell.edu 
>> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question
>>  
>> ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments 
>> or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.
>> 
>> 
>> Thanks, Shane. I guess that's long been debated (e.g., do cats play?), since 
>> almost all forms of play also have a "practice" aspect. I was telling my 
>> swallow story to a friend in the D.C. area, and he described a pair of foxes 
>> who had a den near his backyard. The kits would come out in the early 
>> morning and play with the balls my friend's family had left in the 
>> yard...but the play was pouncing, chasing etc. So I'd like to believe it can 
>> be both. 
>> 
>> Hope it's okay to continue this conversation here. (I find it fascinating!) 
>> I/we can take it private if it's taking up too much space.
>> --Joe
>> 
>> On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 11:49 AM Shane Blodgett  
>> wrote:
>> For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just for 
>> “fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.” 
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Shane Blodgett
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the 
>>> references. I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I 
>>> watched varied its game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice 
>>> it flew almost straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the 
>>> ground before releasing the feather. 
>>> 
>>> I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a 
>>> large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down 
>>> feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a 
>>> denser one.
>>> 
>>> I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next piece 
>>> will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
>>> Joe
>>> 
>>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty  wrote:
>>> Joseph and all,
>>> 
>>> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in 
>>> person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from 
>>> Birds of the World online. 
>>> 
>>> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white 
>>> feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it 
>>> reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same behavior 
>>> (2)."
>>> 
>>> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British 
>>> Birds 83:239
>>> 
>>> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In 
>>> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and 
>>> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx 
>>> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
>>> 
>>> Best,
>>> Brendan Fogarty
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi  wrote:
>>> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a 
>>> Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last 
>>

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Peter Post]

I for one would like to see more of this sort of thing kn NYSBirds. There are 
many such observations that go unrecorded. This is a perfect place for it. 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 7, 2021, at 8:24 AM, Cappello, Adriana R (DEC) 
>  wrote:
> 
> 
> I thoroughly enjoyed this thread- thank you for sharing!! 
> 
>  
> Addie Cappello
> Wildlife Technician, Division of Fish and Wildlife
> Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
>  
> New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
> 50 Circle Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790
> P: (631) 444-0310  |  P: (631) 924-3156 |  adriana.cappe...@dec.ny.gov
> www.dec.ny.gov |  |  | 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> From: bounce-125688380-83014...@list.cornell.edu 
>  on behalf of Joseph Wallace 
> 
> Sent: Sunday, June 6, 2021 12:07 PM
> To: Shane Blodgett 
> Cc: Brendan Fogarty ; Ardith Bondi ; 
> nysbirds-l@cornell.edu 
> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question
>  
> ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments 
> or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.
> 
> 
> Thanks, Shane. I guess that's long been debated (e.g., do cats play?), since 
> almost all forms of play also have a "practice" aspect. I was telling my 
> swallow story to a friend in the D.C. area, and he described a pair of foxes 
> who had a den near his backyard. The kits would come out in the early morning 
> and play with the balls my friend's family had left in the yard...but the 
> play was pouncing, chasing etc. So I'd like to believe it can be both. 
> 
> Hope it's okay to continue this conversation here. (I find it fascinating!) 
> I/we can take it private if it's taking up too much space.
> --Joe
> 
>> On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 11:49 AM Shane Blodgett  
>> wrote:
>> For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just for 
>> “fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.” 
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Shane Blodgett
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the references. 
>> I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I watched varied its 
>> game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice it flew almost 
>> straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the ground before 
>> releasing the feather. 
>> 
>> I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a 
>> large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down 
>> feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a denser 
>> one.
>> 
>> I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next piece 
>> will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
>> Joe
>> 
>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty  wrote:
>> Joseph and all,
>> 
>> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in 
>> person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from 
>> Birds of the World online. 
>> 
>> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white 
>> feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it 
>> reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same behavior 
>> (2)."
>> 
>> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British Birds 
>> 83:239
>> 
>> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In 
>> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and 
>> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx 
>> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
>> 
>> Best,
>> Brendan Fogarty
>> 
>> 
>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi  wrote:
>> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a 
>> Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last 
>> Tuesday with a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a 
>> Nikon D850 with a very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow 
>> was singing in response to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the 
>> bird sang. I tried a varied pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the 
>> bird waited a second and then flew off. I had never experienced that before, 
>> either. I have watched penguins play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb up on 
>> things and jump off them just for fun. They’ll even do it with a buddy. 
>> 
>> Ardith Bondi
>> NYC
>> www.ardithbondi.com
>>

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Peter Post]

I for one would like to see more of this sort of thing kn NYSBirds. There are 
many such observations that go unrecorded. This is a perfect place for it. 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 7, 2021, at 8:24 AM, Cappello, Adriana R (DEC) 
>  wrote:
> 
> 
> I thoroughly enjoyed this thread- thank you for sharing!! 
> 
>  
> Addie Cappello
> Wildlife Technician, Division of Fish and Wildlife
> Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
>  
> New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
> 50 Circle Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790
> P: (631) 444-0310  |  P: (631) 924-3156 |  adriana.cappe...@dec.ny.gov
> www.dec.ny.gov |  |  | 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> From: bounce-125688380-83014...@list.cornell.edu 
>  on behalf of Joseph Wallace 
> 
> Sent: Sunday, June 6, 2021 12:07 PM
> To: Shane Blodgett 
> Cc: Brendan Fogarty ; Ardith Bondi ; 
> nysbirds-l@cornell.edu 
> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question
>  
> ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments 
> or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.
> 
> 
> Thanks, Shane. I guess that's long been debated (e.g., do cats play?), since 
> almost all forms of play also have a "practice" aspect. I was telling my 
> swallow story to a friend in the D.C. area, and he described a pair of foxes 
> who had a den near his backyard. The kits would come out in the early morning 
> and play with the balls my friend's family had left in the yard...but the 
> play was pouncing, chasing etc. So I'd like to believe it can be both. 
> 
> Hope it's okay to continue this conversation here. (I find it fascinating!) 
> I/we can take it private if it's taking up too much space.
> --Joe
> 
>> On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 11:49 AM Shane Blodgett  
>> wrote:
>> For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just for 
>> “fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.” 
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Shane Blodgett
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the references. 
>> I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I watched varied its 
>> game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice it flew almost 
>> straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the ground before 
>> releasing the feather. 
>> 
>> I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a 
>> large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down 
>> feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a denser 
>> one.
>> 
>> I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next piece 
>> will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
>> Joe
>> 
>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty  wrote:
>> Joseph and all,
>> 
>> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in 
>> person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from 
>> Birds of the World online. 
>> 
>> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white 
>> feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it 
>> reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same behavior 
>> (2)."
>> 
>> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British Birds 
>> 83:239
>> 
>> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In 
>> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and 
>> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx 
>> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
>> 
>> Best,
>> Brendan Fogarty
>> 
>> 
>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi  wrote:
>> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a 
>> Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last 
>> Tuesday with a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a 
>> Nikon D850 with a very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow 
>> was singing in response to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the 
>> bird sang. I tried a varied pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the 
>> bird waited a second and then flew off. I had never experienced that before, 
>> either. I have watched penguins play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb up on 
>> things and jump off them just for fun. They’ll even do it with a buddy. 
>> 
>> Ardith Bondi
>> NYC
>> www.ardithbondi.com
>>

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Robert Paxton]

Another element to the white feather game. Swallows (especially tree
swallows, but perhaps barns too) habitually decorate their nests with white
feathers.
   Bob Paxton

On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 10:04 PM Joseph Wallace  wrote:

> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t,
> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.
>
> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and
> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass,
> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally
> the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
>
> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
> anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this?
> Thanks--Joe Wallace
> --
> *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/

--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Robert Paxton]

Another element to the white feather game. Swallows (especially tree
swallows, but perhaps barns too) habitually decorate their nests with white
feathers.
   Bob Paxton

On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 10:04 PM Joseph Wallace  wrote:

> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t,
> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.
>
> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and
> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass,
> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally
> the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
>
> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
> anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this?
> Thanks--Joe Wallace
> --
> *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/

--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Cappello, Adriana R (DEC)]

I thoroughly enjoyed this thread- thank you for sharing!! 




Addie Cappello

Wildlife Technician, Division of Fish and Wildlife

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers



New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

50 Circle Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790

P: (631) 444-0310  |  P: (631) 924-3156 |  
adriana.cappe...@dec.ny.gov<mailto:adriana.cappe...@dec.ny.gov>

www.dec.ny.gov<http://www.dec.ny.gov/> | [13898AF0] 
<https://www.facebook.com/NYSDEC>  | [48545E7E] <https://twitter.com/NYSDEC>  | 
[F510F3C] <https://www.instagram.com/nysdec/>



[F73604AA]




From: bounce-125688380-83014...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Joseph Wallace 

Sent: Sunday, June 6, 2021 12:07 PM
To: Shane Blodgett 
Cc: Brendan Fogarty ; Ardith Bondi ; 
nysbirds-l@cornell.edu 
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question


ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments or 
click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.

Thanks, Shane. I guess that's long been debated (e.g., do cats play?), since 
almost all forms of play also have a "practice" aspect. I was telling my 
swallow story to a friend in the D.C. area, and he described a pair of foxes 
who had a den near his backyard. The kits would come out in the early morning 
and play with the balls my friend's family had left in the yard...but the play 
was pouncing, chasing etc. So I'd like to believe it can be both.

Hope it's okay to continue this conversation here. (I find it fascinating!) 
I/we can take it private if it's taking up too much space.
--Joe

On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 11:49 AM Shane Blodgett 
mailto:shaneblodg...@yahoo.com>> wrote:
For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just for 
“fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.”

Regards,
Shane Blodgett

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace 
mailto:joew...@gmail.com>> wrote:


Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the references. I 
love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I watched varied its game, 
swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice it flew almost straight 
upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the ground before releasing the 
feather.

I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a 
large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down 
feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a denser 
one.

I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next piece 
will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
Joe

On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty 
mailto:bn...@cornell.edu>> wrote:
Joseph and all,

This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in 
person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from Birds 
of the World online.

"In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white 
feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it 
reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same behavior 
(2)."

1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British Birds 
83:239

2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In 
Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and Wagtails 
(J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx Edicions, 
Barcelona, Spain.

Best,
Brendan Fogarty


On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi 
mailto:ard...@earthlink.net>> wrote:
That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a Tree 
Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last Tuesday with 
a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a Nikon D850 with a 
very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow was singing in response 
to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the bird sang. I tried a varied 
pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the bird waited a second and then 
flew off. I had never experienced that before, either. I have watched penguins 
play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb up on things and jump off them just for 
fun. They’ll even do it with a buddy.

Ardith Bondi
NYC
www.ardithbondi.com<https://protect2.fireeye.com/v1/url?k=91334dd5-cea87508-9131b4e0-0cc47aa8c6e0-5cc2d3b89bfd5aab=1=e2b295bd-dae9-483d-97ec-05aa684243d2=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ardithbondi.com%2F>

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace 
mailto:joew...@gmail.com>> wrote:


This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but I 
watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton Point Park 
in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white drifting slowly 
towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I focused on it, a Barn 
Swallow snatched it out of the air

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Cappello, Adriana R (DEC)]

I thoroughly enjoyed this thread- thank you for sharing!! 




Addie Cappello

Wildlife Technician, Division of Fish and Wildlife

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers



New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

50 Circle Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790

P: (631) 444-0310  |  P: (631) 924-3156 |  
adriana.cappe...@dec.ny.gov<mailto:adriana.cappe...@dec.ny.gov>

www.dec.ny.gov<http://www.dec.ny.gov/> | [13898AF0] 
<https://www.facebook.com/NYSDEC>  | [48545E7E] <https://twitter.com/NYSDEC>  | 
[F510F3C] <https://www.instagram.com/nysdec/>



[F73604AA]




From: bounce-125688380-83014...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Joseph Wallace 

Sent: Sunday, June 6, 2021 12:07 PM
To: Shane Blodgett 
Cc: Brendan Fogarty ; Ardith Bondi ; 
nysbirds-l@cornell.edu 
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question


ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments or 
click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.

Thanks, Shane. I guess that's long been debated (e.g., do cats play?), since 
almost all forms of play also have a "practice" aspect. I was telling my 
swallow story to a friend in the D.C. area, and he described a pair of foxes 
who had a den near his backyard. The kits would come out in the early morning 
and play with the balls my friend's family had left in the yard...but the play 
was pouncing, chasing etc. So I'd like to believe it can be both.

Hope it's okay to continue this conversation here. (I find it fascinating!) 
I/we can take it private if it's taking up too much space.
--Joe

On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 11:49 AM Shane Blodgett 
mailto:shaneblodg...@yahoo.com>> wrote:
For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just for 
“fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.”

Regards,
Shane Blodgett

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace 
mailto:joew...@gmail.com>> wrote:


Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the references. I 
love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I watched varied its game, 
swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice it flew almost straight 
upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the ground before releasing the 
feather.

I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a 
large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down 
feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a denser 
one.

I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next piece 
will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
Joe

On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty 
mailto:bn...@cornell.edu>> wrote:
Joseph and all,

This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in 
person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from Birds 
of the World online.

"In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white 
feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it 
reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same behavior 
(2)."

1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British Birds 
83:239

2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In 
Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and Wagtails 
(J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx Edicions, 
Barcelona, Spain.

Best,
Brendan Fogarty


On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi 
mailto:ard...@earthlink.net>> wrote:
That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a Tree 
Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last Tuesday with 
a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a Nikon D850 with a 
very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow was singing in response 
to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the bird sang. I tried a varied 
pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the bird waited a second and then 
flew off. I had never experienced that before, either. I have watched penguins 
play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb up on things and jump off them just for 
fun. They’ll even do it with a buddy.

Ardith Bondi
NYC
www.ardithbondi.com<https://protect2.fireeye.com/v1/url?k=91334dd5-cea87508-9131b4e0-0cc47aa8c6e0-5cc2d3b89bfd5aab=1=e2b295bd-dae9-483d-97ec-05aa684243d2=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ardithbondi.com%2F>

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace 
mailto:joew...@gmail.com>> wrote:


This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but I 
watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton Point Park 
in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white drifting slowly 
towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I focused on it, a Barn 
Swallow snatched it out of the air

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Joseph Wallace]

Thanks, Shane. I guess that's long been debated (e.g., do cats play?),
since almost all forms of play also have a "practice" aspect. I was telling
my swallow story to a friend in the D.C. area, and he described a pair of
foxes who had a den near his backyard. The kits would come out in the early
morning and play with the balls my friend's family had left in the
yard...but the play was pouncing, chasing etc. So I'd like to believe it
can be both.

Hope it's okay to continue this conversation here. (I find it fascinating!)
I/we can take it private if it's taking up too much space.
--Joe

On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 11:49 AM Shane Blodgett 
wrote:

> For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just
> for “fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.”
>
> Regards,
> Shane Blodgett
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>
> 
> Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the
> references. I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I
> watched varied its game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice
> it flew almost straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the
> ground before releasing the feather.
>
> I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a
> large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down
> feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a
> denser one.
>
> I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next
> piece will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
> Joe
>
> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty  wrote:
>
>> Joseph and all,
>>
>> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before
>> in person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt
>> from Birds of the World online.
>>
>> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large
>> white feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it
>> before it reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this
>> same behavior (2)."
>>
>> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British
>> Birds 83:239
>>
>> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In
>> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and
>> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx
>> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
>>
>> Best,
>> Brendan Fogarty
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing
>>> a Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last
>>> Tuesday with a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a
>>> Nikon D850 with a very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow
>>> was singing in response to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the
>>> bird sang. I tried a varied pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the
>>> bird waited a second and then flew off. I had never experienced that
>>> before, either. I have watched penguins play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb
>>> up on things and jump off them just for fun. They’ll even do it with a
>>> buddy.
>>>
>>> Ardith Bondi
>>> NYC
>>> www.ardithbondi.com
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t,
>>> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
>>> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
>>> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
>>> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
>>> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
>>> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.
>>>
>>> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
>>> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and
>>> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass,
>>> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally
>>> the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
>>>
>>> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
>>> anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this?
>>> Thanks--Joe Wallace
>>> --
>>> *NYSbirds-L List Info:*
>>> Welcome and Basics 
>>> Rules and Information
>>> 
>>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
>>> 
>>> *Archives:*
>>> The Mail Archive
>>> 
>>> Surfbirds 
>>> ABA 

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Joseph Wallace]

Thanks, Shane. I guess that's long been debated (e.g., do cats play?),
since almost all forms of play also have a "practice" aspect. I was telling
my swallow story to a friend in the D.C. area, and he described a pair of
foxes who had a den near his backyard. The kits would come out in the early
morning and play with the balls my friend's family had left in the
yard...but the play was pouncing, chasing etc. So I'd like to believe it
can be both.

Hope it's okay to continue this conversation here. (I find it fascinating!)
I/we can take it private if it's taking up too much space.
--Joe

On Sun, Jun 6, 2021 at 11:49 AM Shane Blodgett 
wrote:

> For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just
> for “fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.”
>
> Regards,
> Shane Blodgett
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>
> 
> Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the
> references. I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I
> watched varied its game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice
> it flew almost straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the
> ground before releasing the feather.
>
> I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a
> large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down
> feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a
> denser one.
>
> I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next
> piece will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
> Joe
>
> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty  wrote:
>
>> Joseph and all,
>>
>> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before
>> in person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt
>> from Birds of the World online.
>>
>> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large
>> white feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it
>> before it reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this
>> same behavior (2)."
>>
>> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British
>> Birds 83:239
>>
>> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In
>> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and
>> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx
>> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
>>
>> Best,
>> Brendan Fogarty
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing
>>> a Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last
>>> Tuesday with a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a
>>> Nikon D850 with a very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow
>>> was singing in response to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the
>>> bird sang. I tried a varied pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the
>>> bird waited a second and then flew off. I had never experienced that
>>> before, either. I have watched penguins play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb
>>> up on things and jump off them just for fun. They’ll even do it with a
>>> buddy.
>>>
>>> Ardith Bondi
>>> NYC
>>> www.ardithbondi.com
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t,
>>> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
>>> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
>>> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
>>> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
>>> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
>>> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.
>>>
>>> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
>>> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and
>>> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass,
>>> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally
>>> the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
>>>
>>> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
>>> anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this?
>>> Thanks--Joe Wallace
>>> --
>>> *NYSbirds-L List Info:*
>>> Welcome and Basics 
>>> Rules and Information
>>> 
>>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
>>> 
>>> *Archives:*
>>> The Mail Archive
>>> 
>>> Surfbirds 
>>> ABA 

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Shane Blodgett]

For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just for 
“fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.” 

Regards,
Shane Blodgett

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
> 
> 
> Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the references. 
> I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I watched varied its 
> game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice it flew almost 
> straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the ground before 
> releasing the feather. 
> 
> I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a 
> large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down 
> feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a denser 
> one.
> 
> I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next piece 
> will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
> Joe
> 
>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty  wrote:
>> Joseph and all,
>> 
>> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in 
>> person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from 
>> Birds of the World online. 
>> 
>> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white 
>> feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it 
>> reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same behavior 
>> (2)."
>> 
>> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British Birds 
>> 83:239
>> 
>> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In 
>> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and 
>> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx 
>> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
>> 
>> Best,
>> Brendan Fogarty
>> 
>> 
>>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi  wrote:
>>> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a 
>>> Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last 
>>> Tuesday with a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a 
>>> Nikon D850 with a very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow 
>>> was singing in response to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the 
>>> bird sang. I tried a varied pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the 
>>> bird waited a second and then flew off. I had never experienced that 
>>> before, either. I have watched penguins play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb 
>>> up on things and jump off them just for fun. They’ll even do it with a 
>>> buddy. 
>>> 
>>> Ardith Bondi
>>> NYC
>>> www.ardithbondi.com
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
> On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
> 
 
>>> 
 This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, 
 but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton 
 Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white 
 drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I 
 focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I 
 expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the 
 feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again. 
 
 For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the 
 feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and 
 then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, 
 retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. 
 Finally the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
 
 I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was 
 anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? 
 Thanks--Joe Wallace
 --
 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:
>>> 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:
> Welcome and Basics
> Rules and Information
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
> Archives:
> The Mail Archive
> Surfbirds
> ABA
> Please submit your observations to eBird!
> --

--

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Please submit your 

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Shane Blodgett]

For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just for 
“fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.” 

Regards,
Shane Blodgett

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
> 
> 
> Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the references. 
> I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I watched varied its 
> game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice it flew almost 
> straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the ground before 
> releasing the feather. 
> 
> I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a 
> large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down 
> feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a denser 
> one.
> 
> I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next piece 
> will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
> Joe
> 
>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty  wrote:
>> Joseph and all,
>> 
>> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in 
>> person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from 
>> Birds of the World online. 
>> 
>> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white 
>> feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it 
>> reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same behavior 
>> (2)."
>> 
>> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British Birds 
>> 83:239
>> 
>> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In 
>> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and 
>> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx 
>> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
>> 
>> Best,
>> Brendan Fogarty
>> 
>> 
>>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi  wrote:
>>> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a 
>>> Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last 
>>> Tuesday with a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a 
>>> Nikon D850 with a very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow 
>>> was singing in response to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the 
>>> bird sang. I tried a varied pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the 
>>> bird waited a second and then flew off. I had never experienced that 
>>> before, either. I have watched penguins play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb 
>>> up on things and jump off them just for fun. They’ll even do it with a 
>>> buddy. 
>>> 
>>> Ardith Bondi
>>> NYC
>>> www.ardithbondi.com
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
> On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
> 
 
>>> 
 This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, 
 but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton 
 Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white 
 drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I 
 focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I 
 expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the 
 feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again. 
 
 For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the 
 feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and 
 then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, 
 retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. 
 Finally the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
 
 I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was 
 anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? 
 Thanks--Joe Wallace
 --
 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:
>>> 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:
> Welcome and Basics
> Rules and Information
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
> Archives:
> The Mail Archive
> Surfbirds
> ABA
> Please submit your observations to eBird!
> --

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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Joseph Wallace]

Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the
references. I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I
watched varied its game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice
it flew almost straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the
ground before releasing the feather.

I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a
large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down
feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a
denser one.

I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next piece
will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
Joe

On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty  wrote:

> Joseph and all,
>
> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in
> person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from
> Birds of the World online.
>
> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white
> feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it
> reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same
> behavior (2)."
>
> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British
> Birds 83:239
>
> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In
> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and
> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx
> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
>
> Best,
> Brendan Fogarty
>
>
> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi  wrote:
>
>> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing
>> a Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last
>> Tuesday with a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a
>> Nikon D850 with a very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow
>> was singing in response to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the
>> bird sang. I tried a varied pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the
>> bird waited a second and then flew off. I had never experienced that
>> before, either. I have watched penguins play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb
>> up on things and jump off them just for fun. They’ll even do it with a
>> buddy.
>>
>> Ardith Bondi
>> NYC
>> www.ardithbondi.com
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t,
>> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
>> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
>> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
>> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
>> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
>> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.
>>
>> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
>> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and
>> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass,
>> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally
>> the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
>>
>> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
>> anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this?
>> Thanks--Joe Wallace
>> --
>> *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*
>> *!*
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>>
>> --
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>> 
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>> 
>> Surfbirds 
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>> *!*
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Joseph Wallace]

Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the
references. I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I
watched varied its game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice
it flew almost straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the
ground before releasing the feather.

I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a
large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down
feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a
denser one.

I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next piece
will focus on bird play! Thanks again--
Joe

On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty  wrote:

> Joseph and all,
>
> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in
> person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from
> Birds of the World online.
>
> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white
> feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it
> reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same
> behavior (2)."
>
> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British
> Birds 83:239
>
> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In
> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and
> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx
> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.
>
> Best,
> Brendan Fogarty
>
>
> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi  wrote:
>
>> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing
>> a Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last
>> Tuesday with a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a
>> Nikon D850 with a very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow
>> was singing in response to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the
>> bird sang. I tried a varied pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the
>> bird waited a second and then flew off. I had never experienced that
>> before, either. I have watched penguins play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb
>> up on things and jump off them just for fun. They’ll even do it with a
>> buddy.
>>
>> Ardith Bondi
>> NYC
>> www.ardithbondi.com
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t,
>> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
>> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
>> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
>> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
>> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
>> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.
>>
>> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
>> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and
>> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass,
>> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally
>> the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
>>
>> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
>> anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this?
>> Thanks--Joe Wallace
>> --
>> *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:*
>> Welcome and Basics 
>> Rules and Information 
>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
>> 
>> *Archives:*
>> The Mail Archive
>> 
>> Surfbirds 
>> ABA 
>> *Please submit your observations to **eBird*
>> *!*
>> --
>>
>

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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Andrew Mason]

I have observed Tree Swallows in this behavior before, in fact I have
participated!  Tossing a feather, particularly  a white feather, into
the air in the vicinity of these birds will nearly always get their
interest and they will often swoop in and snatch it, flying up and
dropping it, only to grab it again.  This is usually near a nest
box--Tree Swallows make extensive use of feathers in their nest.  It has
often puzzled me how they come by these--often white chicken
feathers--miles from the nearest chicken!

I've never seen this 'play' as extensive as Joseph describes though, but
I have seen pairs engaged in it together.

Andy Mason

On 6/5/2021 10:03 PM, Joseph Wallace wrote:
> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's
> o/t, but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior
> at Croton Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted
> something white drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy
> feather. Just as I focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of
> the air with its beak. I expected the bird to head off to its nest,
> but instead it dropped the feather...and then circled and snatched it
> out of the air again.
>
> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in
> its direction--and then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the
> feather land on the grass, retrieving it once while on the wing and
> once by landing beside it. Finally the swallow did head off, I imagine
> to line its nest at last.
>
> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
> anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like
> this? Thanks--Joe Wallace
> --
> *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*
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--
Andrew Mason
13 Boylston St.
Oneonta, NY  13820
(607) 652-2162
andyma...@earthling.net


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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Brendan Fogarty]

Joseph and all,

This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in
person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from
Birds of the World online.

"In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white
feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it
reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same behavior
(2)."

1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British
Birds 83:239

2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In
Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and
Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx
Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Best,
Brendan Fogarty


On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi  wrote:

> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a
> Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last
> Tuesday with a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a
> Nikon D850 with a very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow
> was singing in response to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the
> bird sang. I tried a varied pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the
> bird waited a second and then flew off. I had never experienced that
> before, either. I have watched penguins play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb
> up on things and jump off them just for fun. They’ll even do it with a
> buddy.
>
> Ardith Bondi
> NYC
> www.ardithbondi.com
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>
> 
>
> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t,
> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.
>
> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and
> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass,
> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally
> the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
>
> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
> anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this?
> Thanks--Joe Wallace
> --
> *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:*
> Welcome and Basics 
> Rules and Information 
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
> 
> *Archives:*
> The Mail Archive
> 
> Surfbirds 
> ABA 
> *Please submit your observations to **eBird*
> *!*
> --
>

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Brendan Fogarty]

Joseph and all,

This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in
person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from
Birds of the World online.

"In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white
feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it
reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same behavior
(2)."

1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British
Birds 83:239

2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In
Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and
Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx
Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Best,
Brendan Fogarty


On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi  wrote:

> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a
> Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last
> Tuesday with a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a
> Nikon D850 with a very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow
> was singing in response to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the
> bird sang. I tried a varied pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the
> bird waited a second and then flew off. I had never experienced that
> before, either. I have watched penguins play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb
> up on things and jump off them just for fun. They’ll even do it with a
> buddy.
>
> Ardith Bondi
> NYC
> www.ardithbondi.com
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
>
> 
>
> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t,
> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.
>
> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and
> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass,
> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally
> the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
>
> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
> anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this?
> Thanks--Joe Wallace
> --
> *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*
> *!*
> --
>
> --
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> Welcome and Basics 
> Rules and Information 
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
> 
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> Surfbirds 
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> *Please submit your observations to **eBird*
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Ardith Bondi]

That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a Tree 
Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last Tuesday with 
a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a Nikon D850 with a 
very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow was singing in response 
to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the bird sang. I tried a varied 
pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the bird waited a second and then 
flew off. I had never experienced that before, either. I have watched penguins 
play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb up on things and jump off them just for 
fun. They’ll even do it with a buddy. 

Ardith Bondi
NYC
www.ardithbondi.com

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
> 
> 
> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but I 
> watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton Point 
> Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white drifting 
> slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I focused on it, a 
> Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I expected the bird to 
> head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the feather...and then circled 
> and snatched it out of the air again. 
> 
> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the 
> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and 
> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, 
> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally 
> the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
> 
> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was anything 
> else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? Thanks--Joe 
> Wallace
> --
> 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!
> --

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Ardith Bondi]

That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a Tree 
Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last Tuesday with 
a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a Nikon D850 with a 
very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow was singing in response 
to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the bird sang. I tried a varied 
pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the bird waited a second and then 
flew off. I had never experienced that before, either. I have watched penguins 
play in  Antarctica. Penguins climb up on things and jump off them just for 
fun. They’ll even do it with a buddy. 

Ardith Bondi
NYC
www.ardithbondi.com

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace  wrote:
> 
> 
> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but I 
> watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton Point 
> Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white drifting 
> slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I focused on it, a 
> Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I expected the bird to 
> head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the feather...and then circled 
> and snatched it out of the air again. 
> 
> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the 
> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and 
> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, 
> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally 
> the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.
> 
> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was anything 
> else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? Thanks--Joe 
> Wallace
> --
> 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!
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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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[nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Joseph Wallace]

This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but
I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.

For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and
then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass,
retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally
the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.

I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this?
Thanks--Joe Wallace

--

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3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Barn Swallow question

[Joseph Wallace]

This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, but
I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton
Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white
drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I
focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I
expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the
feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again.

For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the
feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and
then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass,
retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. Finally
the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last.

I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was
anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this?
Thanks--Joe Wallace

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