Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 13:43:55 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Sam Droege Subject: Re: Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Hyattsville MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Beth: I grew up in Hyattsville and in the 70's had roughies nesting in drainpipes in exactly the same manner as you describe, but along the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia. Glad to see that some things don't change. sam Sam Droege FROG@USGS.GOV w 301-497-5840 h 301-390-7759 fax 301-497-5784 USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center 12100 Beech Forest, Laurel, Md 20708-4038 Http://www.mp1-pwrc.usgs.gov Sentiment All things that live die but even rivers dry up or roll out of their beds and rising lands sometimes remove seas and ranges snow tops all year wear down eventually: the earth, of course, itself came into being and must in time be cindered: think of the shock, though, meanwhile, of the minor changes, a friend in an accident, being late to your son's soccer match, a leaning tree in a yard an old house has moved away from. -- A.R. Ammons I just subscribed and wasn't planning to post for a while, but just an hour ago I found a life bird in my apartment complex parking lot, and I think it's breeding! Okay, Northern Rough-winged Swallows may be common, but I've never seen them anywhere and certainly not in my parking lot which is usually home to non-native house sparrows and starlings. I checked several field guides as well as the Sibley book and I am certain of the identification. First I saw a pair on a telephone wire, then one sat on the wire saying "frripp frripp" while the other swooped around the parking lot and occasionally landed on the asphalt, then later I saw three swooping around together. Suddenly I saw one carrying a piece of grass or straw, and I thought "nesting material!," and sure enough the bird flew right into one of the 5 or 6 approx. 5-inch diameter drainage pipes in the stone wall bordering the lot. Either the same adult or one of the others made several more visits to the pipe. I checked it with a flashlight and the cavity is lined with grass and straw. According to the books, drainpipes in stone walls are a fairly common place for these guys to nest. I can't explain the third adult, though. Does this species ever have non-breeding nest helpers? I don't know if anyone has this block for the atlas but I would be happy to provide additional information if required. I'll be birding Magruder Park in Hyattsville tomorrow morning and I hope to find a lifer or two... after two hours of birding in Magruder back in March I got too cold and was quickly heading home when a winter wren, my first, popped up out of the undergrowth to sing. It's a small park, but during the six years I've lived here I've gathered quite a park list, including several life birds. I also have my own private kestrel, a male, who is either out there every time I reach the stream area or arrives within 5 or 10 minutes, without fail. Beth Kantrowitz Hyattsville, MD bkantrowitz@olg.com Board Member and Webmaster of the Prince George's Audubon Society http://www.pgaudubon.org ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================