Tweeters,

Jack Bowling's note may be slightly misleading in suggesting that
Barn Swallows have "overwintered" in the Lower Mainland of B.C. (i.e.,
Vancouver area). To my knowledge, Barn Swallows have never survived
the winter in the Vancouver area. Except for 1994-- when one Barn
Swallow stuck it out at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary until Feb. 5, and
one at Iona Island until Feb. 9-- the latest "departure date" I am
aware of is January 2, 1970. The average "departure date" for 20 years
in the Vancouver area (1968 to 1993, with a few years' data missing)
is December 4, and the earliest departure date is October 31.
Campbell et al. (The Birds of B.C., Vol. 3) also list February
records of Barn Swallow in 1970 and 1978, but complete details of
these records (e.g. names of observers) are not available, and I
consider them questionable.
The vast majority of Barn Swallows have left the Vancouver area by
early October. However, there are always a few stragglers in places
which offer flying insects in November and December-- mainly the Iona
Island sewage ponds and the sloughs at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary. As
long as the sloughs and ponds remain unfrozen, there are usually a few
insects (mainly chironomids, I believe) flying about. However, even in
the mildest winters, these water bodies end up freezing over for at
least a few days, and the swallows disappear, having presumably
starved and/or frozen to death. You would think this tendency to stay
into December would be weeded out by natural selection, but every year
there are a few foolhardy Barn Swallows that attempt the impossible.
The Ladner Christmas Bird Count, which includes the Reifel Bird
Sanctuary, has twice recorded Barn Swallows on the Christmas Bird
Count: 4 in 1969 (Dec. 26) and 2 in 1974 (Dec. 14). In 1969, Ladner
beat out the usual leader-- Coot Bay, Florida (in the Everglades)--
for the highest CBC count of Barn Swallows in North America that
year!!
Cliff Swallows have also been seen into December in a couple of
years, but do not stay late nearly as often as Barn Swallows, and the
departure dates are in September most years.
This picture may have changed slightly in the last few years (I
don't have complete data since 1993), but I am quite sure that no Barn
Swallow has ever overwintered successfully around Vancouver, The
earliest-ever spring arrivals are in the last few days of March, and
early April is more usual.
The only swallow I know of which HAS overwintered successfully in
B.C. was a Violet-green Swallow at Swan Lake, Victoria, in 1982-83 (in
an El Nino winter, as pointed out by Jack). It was tallied on the
Victoria Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 18, 1982, and seen several more
times in December, January, and February, through to the normal
February arrival date of Violet-greens.

Wayne C. Weber
114-525 Dalgleish Drive
Kamloops, B.C. V2C 6E4
Phone: (250) 377-8865
wayne_weber at bc.sympatico.ca



-----Original Message-----
From: Jack Bowling <jbowling at direct.ca>
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Monday, November 29, 1999 7:41 PM
Subject: Re: late swallows (was two weekend report...)


>** Maureen E. wrote -
>
>> Sat, Nov 27, while surveying near the public boat launch at the Des
>> Moines, WA, Marina, a single, weakly-flying SWALLOW crossed the
north
>> parking lot and up into the trees above the marina condominiums.
Its
>> generally all dark color (back-lit, but definitely not a white
underside),
>> small size, shape, and longish tail (could not see the forks, but
looked
>> matted) suggest a BARN SWALLOW. This is an extremely late date for
this
>> species, or any swallow species. The only other species it could
have
>> been is Cliff Swallow, even more unlikely! I am listing it as a
Barn
>> Swallow.
>
>Hi, Maureen. There have been two occasions during the past ten years
when Barn
>Swallows overwintered in the Lower Mainland of B.C. , mostly in El
Nino winters.
>Cliff Swallows sometimes hang on until mid-November in B.C., too.
>
>Jack Bowling
>Prince George, BC
>mailto: jbowling at direct.ca
>