Meet the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), the most widely distributed and abundant swallow in the world! But did you notice that we in the Pacific Northwest only see barn swallows in the summer? Where do the swallows go the rest of the year? Barn swallows and their cousins, violet-green, tree, cliff, northern rough-winged swallows and purple martins, are all neotropical migrants.

2007 Barn Swallow Cam
Here is some text: In late May 2007, Woodland Park Zoo and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology installed a web cam to monitor a barn swallow nest at the zoo. On May 31, the female laid five eggs. Watch as the swallows care for their young and watch them grow!

 

Neotropical migrants are those birds that migrate between North America and the neotropics: the tropical regions of Mexico; the Caribbean; and Central and South America. In spring, the birds fly north to North America to breed, nest and raise young. In the fall the birds migrate south and spend six to nine months of the year in their tropic wintering habitats. Barn swallows may winter all of the way down to the tip of Argentina in Tierra del Fuego!

Threats to the barn swallow
A major threat to most neotropical migratory birds is a loss of habitat. Migrant birds require habitat in both their winter and summer nesting habitat in order to thrive. Both habitats must provide the basic needs of survival: food; shelter from predators and weather; and water. Additional habitat requirements include habitat along the migration corridor for rest and forage and migratory landmarks.

Fortunately for the barn swallow, finding summer nesting habitat is not much of a problem. The “barnies” are very adaptable and have gone from using their natural nesting habitat, cliffs and caves, to human built structures. You can now find barnies nesting under bridges and in virtually any house and barn type structure. Because of human’s development, barn swallows have expanded their range all across North America!

Because of their relationship with human habitations, we are fortunate to easily observe the beautiful barn swallow. They are sexually dimorphic; the males have longer tail forks, a richer chestnut colored underside, and a glossier, deeper blue wings and back. Not only are they beautiful harbingers of spring, they are beneficial too. As almost exclusive insect eaters, they help control mosquitoes and other flying insects that we find as pests.

How you can help
To help barn swallows and other birds, do not use pesticides that are toxic to wildlife. Native birds, and neotropical migrant birds and their nests, are protected by state and federal laws. If you are concerned about the feces that can build up under a nest, you can place newspaper or cardboard beneath them and dispose of the debris daily. Remember that the barn swallow at your house may have flown thousands of miles to nest there. We are fortunate that they have chosen to coexist with us!

Barn swallows at Woodland Park Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo provides habitat for neotropical migrant birds with its park like setting: trees and shrubs, flowering plants, water features, and animal structures. Every year in mid-April, barn swallows arrive at Woodland Park Zoo, returning to the same animal exhibit in which they nested the previous year. For example, the Family Farm has five barn swallow nests in the cow barn and one nest in the goat barn. This location is ideal: the barns provide structure for nests and the open lawn area and stream/pond feature provides habitat for insects, the swallow’s main diet. The raptor barn is home to four barn swallow nests!

A swallow with a silver bracelet
Since 1999, keepers, volunteers and federally licensed bird banders, have conducted a barn swallow study at the zoo to determine site fidelity and reproductive success. Each summer after the birds are nesting and feeding young, the adults and nestlings are banded with silver numbered bands that individually identify them. Because of our study and other research, we know the adult birds exhibit site fidelity; they return to the same structure and often the same nest as they did the previous year. Imagine that! The birds fly thousands of miles to and from their wintering grounds and end up at the same animal exhibit! In 2004, 38 active barn swallow nests were monitored in 23 structures at the zoo. Many others were observed but some are in locations that cannot be accessed for monitoring purposes. Here are some other interesting facts about the WPZ barn swallows:

• 750 swallows have been banded at the zoo including 643 nestlings
• 38 adult barn swallows have been recaptured at least once since 1999.
• The oldest of the banded adult birds is at least 8 years old and has been recaptured every year in the Raptor Center barn. The next oldest is from the cow barn in the Family Farm.
• Adult barn swallows exhibit strong nest site fidelity. A large percentage of adult barn swallows that are recaptured are recaptured at their same nest structure and many at their same nest site.
In 2006, two birds banded as nestlings returned to nest at the zoo. One male was originally banded in the hippo barn in 2004. A second male was originally banded in the goat barn at the Family Farm in 2005. In 2006, both of these birds nested in the Raptor Center barn.
• Most female swallows lay 3-5 eggs, but nests have had a maximum of 6 and a minimum of 1 egg.
• About 50% of the birds have two clutches of nestlings, producing up to 10-12 chicks per year.
• As with most birds, many of the fledglings do no survive. At Woodland Park Zoo, fledgling barn swallows have some very unique hazards to contend with. In 2006, three fledglings were captured and eaten by the American kestrel at the Raptor Center barn (and he did this from inside his cage!), and two fledglings fell out of their nest and were crushed by the hippos.
• Two fledgling birds were found dead the same year, .25 miles from the zoo where they were banded as nestlings. One had flown into a window. One 2-year-old  female was found "dead on her nest," 2.25 miles south of the zoo. She was originally banded as a nestling at the zoo two years earlier! These birds were reported because the band numbers were called into the Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL).
• One bird was saved by a keeper who removed it from a sticky flytrap meant to trap flies!

For a complete accounting of barn swallow banding at the zoo:

Download the 2004 Barn Swallow Report. (Available as a PDF file)

Download the 2006 Barn Swallow Report. (Available as a PDF file)

While you are visiting the zoo in the spring through fall, remember to look for neotropical migrants like the barn swallow. You can find easily find their nests at the family farm. Look also for the birds with silver bands and you will know that they are an important part of the WPZ study. If you find a dead banded bird of any species, please call the band number in to the BBL at 1-800-327-BAND (2263) or go to this website: http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl

Thank you for caring about barn swallows and other neotropical migrant birds!

Dawn Garcia, licensed bird bander, WPZ volunteer
Gretchen Albrecht, zookeeper