Great news! After I saw the photo of the nestling taken by another birder 3 days ago (I am sorry for not mentioning his/her name. I don't know if he/she wants the publicity), I had to go and check on the fate of this nestling and the nest.
The moment I arrived, I noticed that the nest that was half occluded yesterday is wide open today. It made me happy to see that the swallow re-opened it. Looking inside, I could see the chick is alive and well. Few minutes later, an adult came and fed the chick and I recorded the feeding act on video. You can see it here: https://twitter.com/BirdBrklyn/status/1548720277110005762 To the best of my knowledge, this is the first ever Bank Swallow offspring that was born in Brooklyn. If this is inaccurate, please, let me know. The fact that this nest is wide open proved to me again that no bird will ever abandon its chicks permanently. They might abandon them for a short period of time when there is a danger around, but they always come back to care for them after the danger goes away. At least this is my experience with all the nests I have followed over the years. This Swallow couldn't let its chick be buried alive. As for the other nests, they are still occluded. Two of them totally occluded and the third is half occluded. My thinking that there are no living chicks inside. The swallows probably abandoned their eggs, and they might try laying eggs in another burrow, like Jose suggested. Good birding to all Gus Keri ---- On Sat, 16 Jul 2022 15:30:59 -0400 Jose Ramirez-Garofalo <jose.ramirez.garof...@rutgers.edu> wrote --- > > Gus, > > Unfortunately, that is a common occurrence with Bank Swallow colonies on the > coast. There is really no way to adequately protect the nests unless the > land management agency fences off the top of the dune/bluff. Disturbance to > the front of the colony site can also a problem at a site like Plumb—though > less-so than actual nest collapse. Since they aren’t protected (not even as > a Species of Special Concern despite their widespread declines in NYS/the > northeast), it isn’t likely that targeted measures will be undertaken for > the swallows there. > > The good news is that they are adept at re-nesting, and will sometimes nest > in drainpipes like Northern Rough-winged Swallows. We are pretty late in the > season for them, but it isn’t out of the question. > > Cheers- > José > > -- > José R. Ramírez-Garofalo > Pronouns: He/Him/His > PhD Student > Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources > Rutgers University > 14 College Farm Road, > New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 > > > From: Gus Keri <gusk...@zoho.com> > Date: Sat, Jul 16, 2022 at 12:52 PM > Subject: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: Bank Swallow nests at Plumb Beach > To: Birding alert, NYSBirds, Birding alert <nysbirds-l@cornell.edu> > > > Updates on these nests: > Today, the third nest was totally occluded and the fourth one is > half-occluded, and I anticipate it to be gone by the end of the day. > The reason: people are camping on the top of the cliff exactly above the > nesting wall. > It is very sad that the first ever Bank Swallow nesting in Brooklyn will not > be successful this year and we won't have any new generation of this species > here. > Gus Keri. > > ============ Forwarded message ============ > From: Gus Keri <gusk...@zoho.com> > To: "Birding alert, NYSBirds, Birding alert"<nysbirds-l@cornell.edu> > Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2022 20:35:40 -0400 > Subject: Bank Swallow nests at Plumb Beach > ============ Forwarded message ============ > > > As some of you know there are few nest holes in Plumb beach for Bank > Swallow this season and this happened here for the first time ever, as far > as I know. > > For the last couple of weeks, there were total 4 holes in a small sandy > wall that span some 10-15 feet high and 15-20 feet wide. I only saw the > swallows go into three of these holes. > > Today, I saw only two open holes while the other two were completely > occluded with sand. > > > > I remember at the beginning that two or three other holes closed > completely with sand, but this was before they started nesting. > > At that time, I thought they make few nests and then choose one or two of > them to be used. > > > > But this time the issue is different. I have seen a swallow go into one > of the two closed nests few times which made the possibility of nesting bird > inside very high. And this made me think; what if there was a female sitting > on the eggs when the hole collapse! Can she make her way out? Are these > holes connected to each other from the inside to provide an escape? > > > > The sand in this wall seems to be soft and can collapse easily. This will > put all the other nests at risk. > > I have never seen Bank Swallow nests before, so, I have no knowledge of > this trouble. > > > > I thought some of you might have an answer. > > > > Does sand collapse cause any harm to the nesting birds? > > Is there anything can be done to protect the current nests? > > > > Gus Keri > > > > -- > > NYSbirds-L List Info: > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm > > ARCHIVES: > 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html > 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L > 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 > > Please submit your observations to eBird: > http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ > > -- > -- NYSbirds-L List > Info: Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > ABA Please submit your observations to > eBird! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
