Thanks for sharing this, Kevin.
I had trouble getting at the clip because it was clipped on two lines by
Yahoo! groups. Here it is again using tinyurl.com.
http://tinyurl.com/4qkwyh
Pete
On Sun, Jun 1, 2008 at 1:43 AM, Kevin Colver <> wrote:
> > 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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