Barn Swallow Threatened in Canada?

Citing declines (in some areas) by as much as 76% in the past 40 years, COSWEIC recently decided to list the Barn Swallow as Threatened (see: http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct7/sct7_3_17_e.cfm).

Barn Swallow is one of several common insectivorous species experiencing declines and the cause is the subject of much debate. It remains unclear whether habitat change, insect distribution, abundance and phenology, or climate are at the root of these declines. Barn Swallow began declining in the mid 1980s; however, their present population is still generally considered to be higher in Canada now than before Europeans altered the landscape so drastically. Furthermore, the sources of the data available to assess swallow declines reveal biases and needs to taken with a large grain of salt. It will be interesting to watch the reaction to this listing both in Canada and in the international scientific community. This and several other recent COSEWIC decisions; for example, the recent listing of Bobolink and other species where COSEWIC's assessment differed radically from Birdlife International despite relying on largely the same data sets, have the potential to result in a tarnishing of our reputation… or perhaps provoking a wider discussion on what it means to call a species "Threatened"!

Barn Swallows perch just outside the entrance to Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretative Centre, Manitoba (perhaps to greet Peter Pyle or other visitors on the day)…

Band-tailed Pigeon in Winnipeg

After last year’s White-winged Dove, Manitoba seems to be on a bit of a rare columbid roll with a Band-tailed Pigeon found yesterday in Winnipeg. I managed this shot early this morning, between light rain showers, that shows the neck pattern and a bit of the tail pattern that gives this species their name.

Here come the sparrows...

In the last week or so the sparrow invasion has been on big time! A little late this year but always very enjoyable. In particular I like to scatter seed and leaf litter together and photograph the sparrows as they come through... here are a few of this spring’s visitors to my yard…

Among the first to arrive are the American Tree Sparrows with their rufous crown and bicoloured bill (they were record late this year and stayed in my yard until the last day of April)


Dark-eyed Juncoes are not too far behind. I lsee a lot of variation in juncos here (but that is worthy of a post on its own so I will stick to a few classic Slate-coloureds here).



The Fox Sparrows are also among the first wave of arrivals. These large sparrows are heading north and don’t stick around here too long. Here are a few views of their rich colouration. The last photo illustrates their classic “feeding hop” – they scratch around in the dirt with a two-footed backward flick that sends dirt flying everywhere and exposes lots of goodies to eat…

Then it is Zono time – i.e. the Zonotrichia sparrows, a genus of large and distinctive sparrows. There are five in the world of which we see three here (White-throated, White-crowned and Harris’s). The White-throated Sparrows are famous for their “Oh Canada” song. There are two major forms, white striped (first) and tan striped (second photo)…

And sometimes they show a little aggression!

In spring migration I see them in my yard alongside their beautiful congenitor, the White-crowned Sparrow...

And the largest of all the Zonotrichia, the mighty Harris’s Sparrow. Their distribution is more restricted than the previous two and they migrate through the center of the continent but not very far east or west (making them much sought-after by some visiting birders to Manitoba).

Among the many smaller sparrows that pass through my yard, I have been graced this year with numerous subtly plumaged Lincoln’s Sparrows – the first photo shows what they look like in profile whereas as the second reveals their distinctive breast pattern (buffy wash, streaks and central spot) and crown pattern.

There have been many other sparrows in my yard such as Song, Swamp, Clay-colored and Chipping; hwoever I thought I should mention a few of my finch visitors too. House Finches are regular breeders in the city but in migration I get to see them side by side with the Purple Finches that are migrating through. Here is a comparison of the males (House first then Purple)...

And now a comparison of the females (House Finch first then Purple Finch).

I’ll leave you to study the difference (or post a comment and shake me out of my laziness to go into the various features to look for)… Of course, that is just and smattering of the birds in my yard in spring migration but I better get some rest…. The warblers are on their way!