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Monitoring swallow breeding at Jordan -- get a kayak!



Hello, all.
Lena Gallitano and I used our kayaks last Friday to monitor 3 locations
at Jordan Lake for Cliff Swallows in Brian Bockhahn's monitoring
project. It was pretty wild out there -- we got blown all around under
the Hwy 64 bridge but counted 62 intact Cliff Swallow nests under that
structure -- most of which wouldn't have been visible from the riprap
embankment. I mention this because kayaks and canoes are THE way to see
a lot of great birds up close at Jordan and Falls. As Randy Emmitt
mentioned in his posting, following Pat Coin's, Tree Swallows are
distributed all around Jordan Lake wherever there are snags in the
water. I have seen them going in and out of holes in a snag in the Cub
Creek impoundment, for instance. I also am guessing that some of the
birds NOT seen every year on the Triangle spring counts, such as Common
Loon and various terns, might be seen much more regularly if there were
several more observers out counting in boats. In other words, MAYBE the
birds aren't quite so rare as they seem in early May. A few birders --
Doug Shadwick is one -- seem to be able to walk with their scope
anywhere deep into swamps and wooded edges of Jordan Lake. But for the
rest of us, paddling those edges sure is easier! I'd encourage more
birders to give it a try, particularly since many more models of small,
inexpensive but serviceable kayaks are now available. (Wind can be a
problem on the big lakes, so it helps to have a low-profile boat.)
Ginger Travis
Chapel Hill