Subject: Re: buzz
Date: Jun 8 14:28:31 1995
From: Dennis Paulson - dpaulson at ups.edu


>On Thu, 8 Jun 1995, Don Baccus wrote:
>
>> Etc. Having seen western kingbirds nest right on the top of transformers,
>> is it possible they're a bit warm? Would that seem attractive to
>> them?
>
>I know that occasionally Eastern Kingbird eggs get cooked from the (solar)
>heat from the powerline crossbars they nest on, so if the heat is
>attracting them, it certainly seems to be a maladaptive (dare I say
>fatal) attraction. If I nested in Eastern Washington in June, with a
>nest exposed to the direct sun, the last thing I would be looking for is
>another source of heat!
>
>Chris Hill

This comes from rather far back in my memory, but I believe that Western
Kingbird nests, on the occasion I checked them carefully, were typically on
the crossbar on the *east* side of utility poles (those that had an
east-west orientation, along the Columbia River north of Wenatchee), and I
marvelled that they would be shaded from the hottest afternoon sun. This
is far enough back in my ever-deteriorating memory banks that it needs
confirmation. A good research project for the next tweeters who drive out
into the Columbia Basin.

Recording the side of the pole on which a Western Kingbird nests is SCIENCE
(anyone who does it now will be testing my hypothesis), and I assume it
won't hurt anyone!

I assume y'all have noticed that a lot of WEKI (pronounced "weekee") nests
are located between the transformer and the pole; that's really getting
right in the midst of the vibrations. Are they there for any reason other
than that it furnishes a good support? Here's a phenomenon that virtually
cries out to be understood.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416