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| Barn Swallow by Jerry Ting |
Barn to be wild
(published 8-11-15)
In July, I attended the annual “Purple Martins 101” program
at Cantigny Golf in Wheaton, conducted by Ray Feld, a devoted Cantigny
volunteer. Feld monitors and maintains the busy purple martin colony that visitors
see when they enter the grounds or when they play past on Hillside No. 6.
The golf course entrance drive, in fact, features a Purple
Martin Place street sign. There is perhaps no better address in DuPage County
to observe dozens of the largest member of the swallow family.
But martins are not the only swallows that enjoy some pampering
at Cantigny Golf. Just down the way from Purple Martin Place is a new
attraction called Barn Swallow Hollow. It was dedicated in June, in memory of a
lady golfer who loved the game and the birds she could see while playing it. The
barn swallow was one of her favorites.
It’s easy to understand why. There is much to admire about
barn swallows. In the course of helping create the colorful interpretive panel
for Barn Swallow Hollow, I learned a few things that made me like barn swallows
even more.
All swallows are skilled flyers but I believe “barnies” win on
style points. Golfers, these are the long-winged metallic-blue rockets that skim
the fairway grass, sometimes passing within a few feet of your FootJoys. Barn
swallows thrive at golf courses, sharing their playground with the paying
customers.
Unlike purple martins, the birds are not dependent upon
man-made housing. They do, however, favor human-built structures for their signature
cup-shaped mud nests, attaching them to walls or beams that offer protection
from rain.
At Barn Swallow Hollow, two bridges over a water channel provide
ideal habitat. They are busy passages but the birds don’t mind. Fact is, they
have a sweet situation thanks to Scott Witte, Cantigny Golf’s superintendent.
Witte installed tiny platforms under the bridges to facilitate barn swallow
nesting. And between the bridges he rigged a steel cable that functions as a perch
for young birds and adults. Flight school can be exhausting!
Witte knows that barn swallows would be fine without his
intervention. The species is among the most widespread in the world, breeding
on every continent except Antarctica. But if there is a way to make Cantigny
Golf more bird and wildlife friendly, he’ll find it. Witte established a honey
bee colony at the golf course, too. These projects—along with the purple martin
program and a “bluebird trail” with 50 nest boxes—contribute toward Cantigny’s
status as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, so designated by Audubon
International.
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| Barn Swallow nestlings by Jackie Bowman |
What I didn’t know about barn swallows until recently is
that parents sometimes get a hand from other birds when feeding their babies. The helpers are usually siblings from previous
clutches but unrelated juveniles may assist as well.
But here’s something else I learned, and it’s far from admirable:
an unmated male barn swallow may kill the nestlings of another pair. His sinister
actions often succeed in breaking up the pair, giving him the opportunity to
mate with the female.
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| Barn Swallow Hollow at Cantigny Golf |
For the barn swallows, it won’t be happening around here for much longer. In August the birds begin their journey to wintering grounds in Central and South America. Since they depend exclusively upon airborne insects for food, they must depart our region earlier than most other migrating species. They travel in large groups, called kettles, and cover up to 600 miles a day.
Some of the same birds that occupied Barn Swallow Hollow
will return to Cantigny in 2016. We look
for them in early April, about the same time the first purple martins and tree
swallows arrive.
Copyright 2015 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.