This morning (July 3) Dick Brooks and I observed a sizable Bank  
Swallow colony with many dozens of nest holes located near the  
Connecticut River in North Thetford, Vermont. This colony is visible  
from River Road in Lyme, New Hampshire. Starting north from the  
intersection with East Thetford Road in Lyme (just east of the East  
Thetford-Lyme bridge across the Connecticut River), River Road is  
initially paved and then becomes an unpaved road. Further along to the  
north the pavement resumes, and just at the start of this northern  
paved section, the Bank Swallow colony is visible looking back  
slightly downstream across the river. The distance from River Road in  
Lyme to the colony in Vermont is substantial, and a spotting scope  
will be helpful. With a  magnification of 40 power at that distance  
the numerous Bank Swallows flying about in front of the colony  
appeared very small in the scope.

Two separate parts of the Bank Swallow colony can be seen from River  
Road, and there are very possibly additional nest holes not visible  
from that position on the road. Two fairly large, dead, trees have  
fallen downward in front of the bank containing the colony, and these  
fallen trees as well as other pieces of projecting wood enabled four  
Common Ravens to perch and fly around relatively close to the  
entrances of the nest holes of the Bank Swallows. The ravens were  
already present when we first saw the colony.

I saw one raven fly down to a nest hole and at its entrance grab a  
Bank Swallow which was then carried downward out of sight. The three  
other ravens also then flew down in the same direction and again out  
of our line of sight. The distance from our viewing point was too  
great to determine the age of the captured Bank Swallow, which from  
its size might have been a large nestling, a fledgling, or an adult.

The ravens were very noisy while at the colony, but the distance was  
too great to determine how many of them were calling. Eventually they  
all flew off and the calling no longer heard.

In the same earthen bank as the swallow nest holes was one notably  
larger hole. We heard a Belted Kingfisher along the river from our  
observation point, but we couldn't determine whether the larger hole  
in the bank might have been the entrance to a kingfisher nest burrow.

This was the first time I've seen predation on a Bank Swallow by a  
raven.


George


George Clark
Norwich, VT

****************************************************************
To post messages, send e-mail to:  [log in to unmask]
Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages.
To contact the list owner:  [log in to unmask]
----------------------------------------------------------------
Web based archives and subscription management are available at:
http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html
****************************************************************