[va-bird] "Smart Barn Swallows Nest at Home Depot"

[SteveYoung@xxxxxxx]

Sorry, the following is not about birds in Virginia but a colleague sent it 
along and I thought it too good not to share. It is really gratifying that 
these are Barn Swallows and not House Sparrows. Cheers,
    Steve Young
    Arlington

Subject:  Interesting story:  "Nesting barn swallows figure out how to        
           
                                                 gain access to the 
HomeDepot"                                                          
                                                                              
                                                          

>From the St. Paul Pioneer Press
> Sat, Jun. 26, 2004
>
> Birds opening the coop
> Nesting barn swallows figure out how to
> gain access to the Maplewood HomeDepot,
> amazing workers and wildlife experts.
>
> BY KERMIT PATTISON
>
> Perhaps bird brains should be given a little more credit.
> Some barn swallows apparently have figured out how to operate
> motion detector doors at the Home Depot store in Maplewood
> in order to nest indoors safe from weather and predators.
>
> Wildlife biologists from the Minnesota Department of Natural
> Resources are observing the birds as an unusual example
> of learned behavior and adaptation to the human environment.
>
> "I thought this is so unusual that it needs to be recorded and
> put in the book of knowledge on barn swallows," said Keith
> Stomberg, the Home Depot employee who first noticed the
> phenomenon. "This takes deductive reasoning. The term 'bird brain'
> now has got to be modified."
>
> Steve Kittelson, a DNR wildlife specialist, said it remains unclear
> to what degree the swallows have "learned" to trigger the motion
> sensors. Obviously, the birds have figured out that if they circle
> outside - much as they would instinctively do in front of a closed
> barn door - they will eventually get through. The question is whether
> they realize that their own presence actually triggers the door to
open.
>
> "It's very interesting and amazing to watch that they can make this
> work to their advantage," Kittelson said. "It certainly gives them
> a secure site for nesting. They've eliminated a lot of predators
> and weather elements. They even have air conditioning."
>
> This year marks the fourth spring the swallows have taken up
> residence inside the giant home improvement retailer at 2360
> White Bear Ave. Now there are at least a dozen nests inside
> various entrances, said store manager Gregg Barker.
>
> "They'll operate all the doors," said Barker. "All of them do.
> To get inside, they'll flutter right underneath these sensors until
> it opens."
>
> The cavernous store has become an attraction for birdwatchers.
> "One lady, she stops in once a week just to check them out,"
> said Barker. "I had a couple groups bird watching who come
> and set up videos to tape them."
>
> Stomberg said he first noticed the unusual behavior about three
> years ago while working at the contractor's desk near a set of
> automatic doors. He said the swallows would flutter by the
> motion detectors until the door opened and even would do so
> as a courtesy for birds on the other side who wanted to get through.
>
> "One of the assistant managers locked the door early," Stomberg
> recalled. "The barn swallows weren't done yet. They actually
> picked him and harassed him until he unlocked the door like,
> 'Hey! Unlock the door dummy, I'm not done feeding my kids!' "
>
> Stomberg said he called the Department of Natural Resources
> last year. The DNR officials who came to investigate last spring
> initially were skeptical, he said, but then "picked their jaws up
> off the floor" as they watched the birds.
>
> Carrol Henderson, nongame wildlife supervisor for the DNR,
> said his team immediately saw swallows flying in and out of
> the door as they fed their young. Furthermore, he said the birds
> apparently remember the behavior from year to year and return
> to the same spot after winter migrations to Central and South
> America.
>
> "It expands our appreciation for the fact that there are lots of
> different birds and animals who may have intelligence greater
> than we acknowledge but normally they don't have a way of
> expressing it," said Henderson. "In this case, they're doing
> something above and beyond normal behavior. Here's a little
> piece of technology where they figured out the motion detector."
>
> Kermit Pattison can be reached at kpattison AT pioneerpress.com
> or at 651-228-2183.


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[va-bird] "Smart Barn Swallows Nest at Home Depot"