FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Chimney Swift (Greene Co., TN)

[Don Miller <raincrow@xxxxxxx>]

7 April 2004
Greeneville, Greene County, TN

I saw my first Chimney Swifts of the year this evening in downtown
Greeneville near town hall: 12 "flying cigars" gathering insects in the
last minutes of the day's light and warmth.  This arrival date is
typical of what I have observed in Greeneville over the last decade.
(My earliest arrival date for Chimney Swift here is 2 April.)

Interesting speculation--

Every year Chimney Swifts can be observed in Greeneville around an
historic late 19th century chimney located along Richland Creek
diagonally across East Church Street from town hall.  This chimney was
spared in a renovation project undertaken a few years ago but hasn't
been in service as a chimney for a very long time, probably at least for
several decades.

It is known that adult swifts frequently return to the same nest sites
year after year.  If first-year nesters are likely to return to the area
where they were fledged, and if a succession of birds fledged from this
chimney has used it for nesting over the years, then it would be the
case that a very large number of birds that are closely related
genetically derive from this chimney.  (Of course, swifts generally have
short life spans, so most of these birds would not be alive today;
nonetheless, it is an intriguing and lovely thought that perhaps this
particular structure has served as a nursery for a large clan of
swifts.)

I know that large numbers of North American swifts have been banded and
studied over a period of several decades.  Does anyone have access to
studies of banded and recaptured Chimney Swifts that would shed light on
this--that is, information that would indicate whether first-year
nesters are likely to choose their own fledging sites to establish nests
of their own?

Don Miller
Greeneville, TN

=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================

The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
-----------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
----------------------------------------------------- 
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society 
       Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
        endorse the views or opinions expressed
        by the members of this discussion group.
 
         Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
                 wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
     Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
          web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

    ========================================================