> There has been some talk of observing behavior while we're out
> recording. Here's a little tidbit I observed this month:
> A 30 second sample of over 2 hours of Barn Swallow roost recordings
> is linked below.
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Naturerecording/files/Barn%20Swallows%
> 20in%20the%20Bullrushes.mp3
> I was recording all night at Fish Springs NWR in western UT and
> decided to move away from the noisy bullfrogs and find a new spot
> to await dawn. At 1 AM the spot was quiet. At about 3 AM, under a
> full moon, the bullrushes in front of my mic seemed to bubble over
> with the chatter of Barn Swallows. This went on constantly until
> about 5 AM when they all took flight and started the day feasting
> on the mosquitos that were feasting on me. I've watched swallows
> roosting in barns and other structures in the past but never in a
> patch of reeds one meter tall.
Well, I'd discovered a new behavior, or so I thought. Looking up the
subject in the Birds of North America, I discovered that this marsh
roosting behavior was described over 100 years ago. "During
premigratory periods in late summer, migration, and winter, birds
often gather in large roosts to sleep in marsh vegetation; assemble
over a roost site before landing, forming in some cases dense clouds
that gradually circle lower and lower until birds finally start
dropping down to perch, with many birds flushing and repeating the
performance before finally settling for the night (Bates 1895)." So,
this wasn't anything new to science but was a lucky find for me to
stumble on a roost site out in hundreds of acres of wetlands, in the
middle of the night.
Sure, it's a common bird, no big deal. But it was fun, and when I
think about it, that's why I'm out there recording, to have some
fun. Hope you're all having a great time in the field. Enjoy.
Kevin Colver
PS I posted a photo of the site and my new little Sony PCM D1 out
there recording the sunrise. He's hiding in a homemade fluffy
windscreen cover my wife created.
There is nothing special I can see about this location that tells me
why the swallows picked it for the night. The refuge is big. I wish
I could have checked the spot out over several days to see if they
move or pick the same location each night.
http://tech.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/photos/view/
c363?b=1
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