Thanks everyone for the replies. Clearly it is common behaviour for
Welcome Swallows to frequent old nest sites and use them for roosting.
The reason I wrote I guess is that the Swallows around Canberra are
partially migratory, and although you can find Swallows at any time of
year in the ACT, the population around the Woden area (where this
car-park is), disappears in the winter. I thought that the pair could
have been guarding an old nest site until the end of the season, even
though they weren't nesting again, and then would return and claim it
next season. I suppose, however, that the convenient and familiar
roosting site explanation doesn't exclude the guarding the nesting
site explanation.
Another reason why I wrote was that where I grew up in Britain we had
Swallows (=Barn Swallows) nesting as summer visitors, but they never
hung around their nests after breeding (that I noticed). I think this
may be because they tend to use more open sites that don't have
convenient perches nearby (too convenient for predators?). A typical
Barn Swallow nest would be under the eaves of a house, plastered
against the wall like a swift's nest, with the bird having to fly
straight to the nest and alight directly. Welcome Swallows seem to
prefer recesses, overhangs &c more, and to tolerate having perching
spots nearby.
cheers
John Leonard
2009/3/5 Syd Curtis <>:
>
> My mother, living on Tamborine Mountain (inland from the Gold Coast) had a
> 2-car garage with corrugated iron roof, no ceiling, and open under the
> eaves. Swallows nested above her car, and their droppings made a mess on
> the car and the floor. I solved that problem quite simply: bought a plastic
> snake from a toy-shop and draped it over a beam near the nest. (Not while
> they had nestlings, of course.) No more swallows in the garage.
>
> However, some time later I gave the snake to a friend in Capertee Valley who
> had swallow trouble. They ignored it. (NSW swallows are smarter?)
>
> BTW, on a rare visit to Cairns, 20 plus years ago, I noted a swallows nest
> with chicks on the outside of a building. And at night the parents were
> feeding the chicks from the large number of insects attracted to the street
> light opposite the nest. They really had it made! (North Qld swallows are
> even smarter?)
>
> Cheers
>
> Syd
>
>> From: Carl Clifford <>
>> Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 14:27:16 +1100
>> To: John Leonard <>
>> Cc: Birding-aus <>
>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Swallows frequenting old nests
>>
>> Over some 15 years, while living in Dubbo, NSW, Welcome Swallows would
>> regularly nest in the carparks below the two small shopping malls in
>> the main street. After nesting they used the piping for the fire
>> sprinkler systems and other projections from the ceiling of the
>> carpark as roosts. The mall owners tried many ploys to dissuade the
>> Swallows, but to no avail. The birds no doubt helped with the sale of
>> car cleaning products in the town.
>>
>> Carl Clifford
>
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--
John Leonard
Canberra
Australia
www.jleonard.net
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