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Subject:

Northern Rough-Winged swallow nest

From:

Beth Kantrowitz

Reply-To:

Beth Kantrowitz

Date:

Fri, 8 Jun 2007 10:57:36 -0500

After five years of observing Roughies on the power lines in my apartment
complex parking lot, even once or twice seeing them carrying nesting materials,
I have finally discovered a nest in one of the drain pipes in the surrounding
stone wall.  I was walking across the parking lot yesterday and saw a swallow
disappear into the wall  Returning with a flashlight, I saw a white, speckled
egg about the size of a quarter against one wall about a foot back.  I saw no
hatchlings, broken eggshells, or adult Roughies inside, even though the one who
had entered the pipe earlier was carrying food and actively feeding.  Guess it
would be hard to see an adult greyish-brown Roughie inside the dim tube,
though.

My question is, do Roughies make their nests against walls like other swifts and
swallows?  I'm trying to figure out if the egg I saw was in a nest or if it was
a dud egg pushed out of a nest by an adult.  Is it too late in the season for
unhatched but viable Roughie eggs?  I'll check the nest every few days
regardless, but I'm curious.

Beth Kantrowitz
Hyattsville, MD

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