A little while back I reported on a White-backed Swallow nest/roost on the Loddon River. Over the weekend I made a couple of early starts to see if the site was still active. On Saturday morning I ventured down at around 8am hoping to photograph something interesting. Carefully positioning myself below the tunnel I waited quietly. Two swallows duly left at about 8.15am – of course I was too slow to photograph them, distracted by the begging calls of the Sacred Kingfishers nearby. Thinking that was all to see, I clambered back up the bank, only to be passed by another two swallows and moments later three more, making a total of seven sharing the same venue! I was luckier the following morning, capturing shots of two individuals leaving the site.
Juvenile White-backed Swallow about to depart the tunnel, Loddon River @ Newstead, 3rd February 2013.
The same individual, moments later.
Reading up on the habits of this species, I was intrigued by one report (Waterman & Llewellyn 1968), of 18 juveniles roosting in a tunnel with a pair of Rainbow Bee-eaters and four nestlings; 3 nights later the tunnel only contained Rainbow Bee-eaters, but another tunnel, 1.2 m away, had 27 Swallows, including five that had been banded previously in the Bee-eater’s tunnel! They are a remarkable species indeed.
One of the colony flying in search of an early morning feed.
Reference: Waterman, M.H. & L.C. Llewellyn. 1968. Australian Bird Bander 6: 8-9 cited in HANZAB Volume 7, part B.
A number of years ago a BOCA camp was at Wyperfeld. After a freezing night a few of us stopped at a road cutting where there were a number of White-backed Swallow nest hollows. There were no birds flying around. Ellen McCulloch told us that there were reports of many W-b Swallows roosting together in one hollow for warmth on a cold night. As she spoke the birds poured out of one hole, about 12 in total. The timing was perfect. Alas the foxes and cats have opened up most of the holes and there are no birds there today.
Hi David,
Thanks for relating your story. They are fascinating little birds. At least the tunnel I’ve found should be safe from foxes and cats.
All the best, Geoff