[TN-Bird] Northern Rough-winged Swallow nesting info (Greene Co., TN)
- From: Alice Loftin / Don Miller <pandion@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: TN-Bird <TN-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Bristol-birds <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:45:48 -0400 (EDT)
April 10, 2008
This morning I observed somewhat unusual nesting activity from a small group of
Northern Rough-winged Swallows in Tusculum, located on the eastern edge of
Greeneville.
The site is the Exxon station located at the intersection of Highway 11-E and
College Hills Drive. The station fronts on a busy stretch of 11-E (a four-lane
highway) less than a mile from the Wal-Mart store. The whole area gets a lot
of traffic because of nearby Tusculum College, Doak Elementary School,
Chuckey-Doak Middle School, Chuckey-Doak High School, Greene Valley
Developmental Center, and the communities of Greeneville, Tusculum, and Afton.
There are a couple of busy intersections less than a mile on either side of the
Exxon station.
Driving out of the station, I noticed that the large sign at the edge of the
parking lot has about five round holes in its bottom face, creating five
vertical entrances into the bottom edge of the sign. At least two NRWS were
flying in and out of one of the openings, carrying nesting material. A third
swallow was perched nearby, and there may have been others in the immediate
area.
I found this surprising as I am not familiar with NRWS in this kind of nest
site. I've seen a lot of these swallows around human-made cavities such as
drainage openings in bridges, culverts, etc., and I've seen a lot around rocky
roadcuts and quarries offering crevices, but I don't recall seeing any in
parking lot signs. It also took me a little by surprise to see the birds using
a vertical entrance and flying upward into the hole, as opposed to flying in
level or on a slight downward incline. The busy urban-suburban setting also
seemed a little atypical. The whole arrangement looked more appropriate for
starlings than NRWS.
I would appreciate feedback from others familiar with the nesting habits of
this species. Thanks.
Don Miller
Greeneville, Greene Co., TN
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