Wayne et al.,
We have several records of wintering Violet-green in Coos, one found by
myself a few January's back. In general though, they are much much rarer
than Trees and should not be expected as often. I think poorly seen Trees
can be easily mistaken for Violet-greens also (in my experience).
My intention in this whole exercise was successful- I think it is
appropriate to discuss really early bird sightings on OBOL to weed out the
occasional mistaken IDs that are inevitable. These discussion can also be
helpful for bird watchers not familiar with bird phenology. I imagine
there are a lot of OBOLers who have no idea of when many of these swallows
normally show up and if seeing a certain species is even unusual a certain
time of year. One of OBOLs real strengths over the years (in my opinion)
has been the willingness of long time observers to share their early
arrival data for various species. I have seen less request for such data
in recent years and I expect people are looking to eBird for that
information and bypassing discussions of these early (and late) dates on
OBOL. One or two incorrect early sightings can really skew the data and
make it look for instance, like Purple Martins begin to show up in OR in
mid-winter now. I was only trying to let people know how unusual that
would be and generate a little discussion.
Whenever I see early bird reports, particularly ones where the observer
does not realize that their report is out of the ordinary, I tend to be a
bit skeptical and will probably ask questions about it on OBOL. I mean no
offense, just want to let folks know that a particular observation is
pretty unusual (if they didn't already know it). Questioning an
observation is always a real risk though, and doing it in a tactful way is
always real tough and an avenue I imagine many birders do not want to go
down although if it is done on a routine basis for really early sightings,
maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.
Phenologies are changing for sure in many species, and I hope we can
document them was well as possible as they happen. Anyhow, I would hope
that I was not the only one who saw the Purple Martin report and thought it
was highly unusual...
Tim Rodenkirk
Coos Bay
On Thu, Feb 11, 2016 at 9:20 AM, <whoffman@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi -
Your description of past winter distribution of swallows vis-a-vis Oregon
is largely correct. However, when I look at it in more of a time sequence,
I get a different perspective. Until quite recently (1980s? 1990s?)
swallows of any species were essentially unknown in Oregon between November
and late February. Then CBC-season Barn Swallows began to show up and very
shortly after Tree Swallows, and in the past decade or so, Tree Swallows
have become more regular and common than Barn. In the past several years,
there have also been winter reports that I consider credible of
Violet-Green and Cliff Swallows (the latter first from Ridgefield NWR?).
You are correct, as far as I know, that there is no good documentation of
martins in winter. And I agree that photographs would be great to have.
However, given the pattern of one swallow species after another beginning
to show up in winter, I think your statement that "reports of Purple
Martins are almost CERTAINLY Tree Swallows" is too dismissive.
Whatever changed for Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows seems to be affecting
other swallows as well, so we need to have an open mind about
"unprecedented" reports of other species.
So, I would urge everyone birding Fern Ridge (and everywhere else in
western Oregon) to be on the lookout for swallows, and mentally prepared to
focus on getting good descriptions, and if possible, photographs. It really
helps for identifying swallows to have clear in our minds the critical
things to look for, so we don't get caught after the fact saying "I wish I
had tried to see the forehead color" or the extent of dark crown onto the
sides of the face, or the details of tail shape, etc. If the critical
distinctions are clear in our minds we are more likely to be looking at the
right parts of the bird as it flits by.
I will go out on a limb now, and predict that within a decade we will have
well-documented records from the period December to mid February of all
seven species of swallows that are regular in Oregon. That means not only
Tree and Barn, but also Violet-green, Cliff, Northern Rough-winged, Bank,
and yes, Purple Martin.
Wayne
------------------------------
*From: *"Tim Rodenkirk" <timrodenkirk@xxxxxxxxx>
*To: *"obol" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent: *Wednesday, February 10, 2016 7:53:38 PM
*Subject: *[obol] Swallows when to expect them?
I have to send this to correct some obvious misIDs on early swallows.
Yes TREE SWALLOWS are now starting to overwinter in the Willamette Valley
and many of you have seen them reported on OBOL. This is the default OR
wintering swallow although until recently this was really rare (what the
heck is going on?!). Now, almost every winter, they are reported in various
areas in W OR and in SW WA,
In Coos County, and I expect in many parts of W. OR,Tree Swallows begin to
show up by now- early to mid-Feb. So reports of Purple Martins are almost
CERTAINLY Tree Swallows (excuse me all but we won't see PUMA for a couple
more months- there are no verified records until late March).
Later in February the first Violet-green Swallows show up. They can easily
be mistaken for Trees if you haven't spent much time trying to ID them
before, anyhow, in general, they don't arrive until late Feb. or early
March and are the typical swallow you find nesting later in the season in
suburban neighborhoods.
Historically, Barn Swallows did not show up until later in March. In the
past decade they have been seen from late November into early February in
W. Oregon, not sure what to report on that. Anyhow, by late Feb. the few
Barns reported seem to disappear and then the main wave doesn't show until
late March. This is the same time the first NRW Swallows are reported also
in W. OR but mostly not until the first week of April.
The very first reports of Purple Martins are without exception at Tenmile
Lakes in Coos County the last few days of March or the first few days of
April where one of the largest OR colonies resides and where for the past
couple decades they have been reported first. Most other regular locations
do not report the first male scouts until mid- to late April.
As for Bank Swallows, at least on the Eastside, the records in Coos range
from the very end of April through May for migrants, but in general they
arrive the latest and are easily mistaken as NRW Swallows for those who
have no experience identifying them apart. In Coos we are lucky to see one
or two birds a year in May, usually migrants mixed in with large swallow
flocks along the coast. Of course they are common on the Eastside in
appropriate habitat from May through the summer...
So winter records of Purple Martins- send us photos- they should be in S.
America- no NW records. Good to understand when and where birds begin to
show up (phenology) to better understand what you are seeing out there.
Certainly this may all change with climate warming, but that is normally
incremental and not huge changes. When they are reported extremely early on
OBOL or eBird it is likely something to take a closer look at to see if ID
was correct.
Merry birding all!
Tim R
Coos Bay
