Subject: Swallow Populations
Date: Jul 15 15:11:08 1998
From: "Caroline Feiss" - cfeiss at halcyon.com


Our neighborhood used to host large flocks of Violet Greens and Barn
Swallows. Barn Swallow nests at houses on either side of mine fledged two
clutches each, last year. This year we have noticed a huge increase in the
numbers of Crows, Starlings and House Sparrows but only one pair of Barn
Swallows attempted to nest, but gave up. There have been NO Violet Greens
this year at all. I've followed the discussion of predation of nests, but
it seems to me that none of the invasive species use the same food niche as
the swallows (i.e. flying insects) and so one would think some swallows
would be in evidence. Since the Barn Swallow pair gave up its nesting
efforts two weeks ago, there has not been a single swallow noted in the
neighborhood. Any thoughts?

Caroline Feiss cfeiss+AEA-halcyon.com
Seattle