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Barn

Latin name: rustica French name: Hirondelle rustique Spanish name: Golondrina Común

BREEDING : Barn settle into breeding areas Worldwide Assessment (Global IUCN): Least Concern in April and May, seeking open areas like In Canada (COSEWIC): Threatened grasslands, farms and marshes. Males set Population trend: Large Decrease (-3.7 % /year) up territories near structures, often associ- ated with human dwellings, like barns and outbuildings. Cup-shaped nests are made of mud pellets and lined with for 3-7 white . Females incubate for 2 SPRING MIGRATION weeks, and both parents feed the young for Barn Swallows are neotropical another 3 weeks. migrants, travelling long distances to breeding areas in North America. They migrate during the day, FALL MIGRATION moving north as spring’s warmer Adult Barn Swallows leave weather makes flying insects, like the breeding area shortly after blackflies, midges and mosquitoes, their young fledge the nest. By available along the journey. August, large flocks of swal- lows gather on power lines, in fields and wetlands, foraging and preparing for the journey back DESCRIPTION to their wintering grounds. Barn Swallows are a widespread and familiar in the Swallow . They WINTER are aerial insectivores, and have fast, agile flight to feed on flying insects. Barn Swallows spend the non- breeding season Rufous in Central and forehead, South America, chin & where the tropical throat climate supports an abundant supply of food. Glossy dark blue back-side CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Forked : Passeriformes (Perching )

P Family: Hirundinidae (Swallows) h o : Hirundo t o Species: rustica : M a rk P e c k Weight: 16-22 17- 1 g9 cm CONSERVATION: Globally, Barn Swallows are listed as a species of Least Concern. However, populations in Canada have continuously declined for nearly 40 years, and Barn Swallows are listed as a by the Committee of the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. The causes of this trend are not well understood, but as long-distant, neotropical migrants, these birds rely on many locations, and safe and healthy to support different stages of their annual cycle. Key conservation concerns include:  availability  Changing climate & seasonal shifts result in mis-matched timing of food availability  Decline in food source linked to pesticides

BARN SWALLOW ECOLOGY PROJECT: B Scientists are exploring what factors may be impacting Barn Swallows between the breeding stage and fall migration..

SCIENCE GOALS:  Observe the regional post-breeding movements and survival of juvenile Barn Swallows.  Determine the locations and dates that individual Barn Swallows start fall migration.  Identifying important stopover locations and length of stay during migration.

Adapted from Motus Wildlife Tracking System Projects: Barn Swallows Cambridge and Toronto Zoo (#207: https://motus.org/data/ project?id=207)

METHODS: Adult and juvenile Barn Swallows are tagged at their nesting site, A C usually within barns or outbuildings (A). Mist nests are set up inside the barn or at an entrance where birds move in and out with food for the young chicks (B, above). An aluminum band is attached to leg (C), and information about its age, sex, fat, wing length and weight are recorded

PROJECT DESCRIPTION PROJECT (D). A nanotag with a loop harness is wrapped on the birds legs and sits at D E the base of the like a backpack (E). The birds are released, and the tags will continue to emit a unique signal that can be detected by the Motus receivers for up to three months.

Nanotags have been released on more Project photos: Miriam Bauman (A,C), Christian Artuso (B), than 250 Barn Swallows since 2016 in Megan Wilcox (D), Liza Barney (E) southwestern Ontario, and in Atlantic Canada. Detections of these tags indicate the date and location of the individual bird as it moves across the landscape. VIDEO: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUCuHEu730s

BARN SWALLOW PROJECT DATA The following individual Barn Swallows represent a subset of the population’s movements across the landscape. Explore the post-breeding and migration movements on the provided base map using the following guidelines: You will need: 1. Label the bird species in the top right corner of the map page. A. attached base map 2. Use the detection data in the table below to plot the locations on the map. (latitude/longitude OR 3. Connect the dots and label each track with the tag identification number. alphanumeric) 4. Draw arrowheads on the tracks to point in the direction of bird movement. B. 3 colours (highlighters or 5. Label the track dates on the first detection location and the last detection location. pencil crayons) 6. Circle the location where the bird stopped for the longest time. Label its length of stay. C. pencil or pen 7. Using the scale on the map and a ruler, measure and label the total flight track distance D. ruler from its wintering to breeding location. E. calculator 8. Choose two detections, and calculate the flight speed between locations (distance/time as km/hr). Label this on the map sites. 9. Build a legend in the bottom left corner of the map. Use a different color to label each stage: Breeding, Migration, and Wintering 10. Fill in the Breeding range and the Wintering range of the map, using the legend colors. Table Legend Trace the flight tracks with the color for Migration. 11. Circle the country names of which this bird was detected in. BARS 18240 12. Draw a big star on your location. Which range for this species are you located? BARS 18526

ALPHA- NEAREST LENGTH OF DATE LATITUDE LONGITUDE NUMERIC REFERENCE STAY

July 31, 2018 43.44 -80.64 I-9 Kitchener, ON, CAN 27d 5h 3m 46s August 28, 2018 42.62 80.72 I-9 Woodstock, ON, CAN 0d 0h 3m 21s August 28, 2018 43.06 -80.75 I-9 Port Burwell, ON, CAN 0d 0h 10m 28s September 2, 2018 30.09 -84.16 I-12 Tallahassee, FL, USA 0d 0h 21m 45s Sept 13, 2018 8.64 -77.35 I-16 City, Panama 0d 0h 4m 36s July 25, 2018 46.12 -64.24 J-8 Shemogue, NB, CAN 23d 23h 0m August 24, 2018 46.18 -64.12 J-8 Johnston’s Point, NB, CAN 1d h 32m August 25, 2018 45.9407 -64.2575 J-8 Jolicure, NB, CAN 0d 0h 8m August 26, 2018 45.1257 -67.2661 J-8 Upper Mills, ME, USA 0d 0h 9m August 27, 2018 3.3351 -70.5492 J-9 Wells, ME, USA 0d 0h 7m August 27, 2018 42.7804 -70.8084 J-9 Plum Island, MA, USA 0d 4h 56m August 31, 2018 39.058 -74.7748 I-10 Cape May, NJ, USA 0d 20h 55m September 4, 2018 31.8406 -81.0883 I-11 Savannah, GA, USA 0d 0h 4m September 5, 2018 30.4313 -81.4108 I-12 Jacksonville, FL, USA unknown

CHECK YOUR MIGRATION TRACK HERE: motus.org/data/demo/educationBARS.html Compare these tracks with the eBird abundance map animation: .org/science/status-and-trends/ barswa/abundance-map-weekly

BARN SWALLOW DISCUSSION

Use the guided discussion boxes below to analyze the project results from this Case Study. The attached Resource page offers further information to support your inquiry. Present and discuss as a class, or compare results with other Case Study species.

Populations: What is the population trend and Migration Ecology: What habitat and food 1 status for Barn Swallows? 2 resources make a good stopover site for this species?

Threat Assessment: Identify a threat that Conservation: How can human-related threats be 3 might impact survival or success at each stage: 4 reduced or mitigated? Breeding; Migration; Wintering

BARN SWALLOW EXTENSION ACTIVITIES community. activity thathelpsreduce ormitigate impacts ofthreats tobirdsin your path, organization orresearch. pages inCaseStudy.Considerreaching outfor aninterview abouttheircareer on theproject research team.Findthisinformation ontheMotuswebsiteproject connections ofBarnSwallowstotheirecologicalcommunity. computer graphics (usingsoftware suchasAdobeIllustrator). Stewardship &Conservation: Citizen Science: Career Connections: Connecting Communities through birds: Bird Inquiry: Bird Art: Ecological Connections: game, quiz,appealletter,blogpostetc.). skit, memes,comic,graphic, brochure, powerpointpresentation, poem,shortstory, present information inacreative communication(infographic, popularnewsarticle, Count, andeBird. FeederWatch, Project NestWatch(Canada),(US),Great BackyardBird your area andcontributeobservations for scienceandconservation. Try Project media, orarrange aclassroom-to-classroom videochat. You couldwritealettertoinform theschoolofbird,exchangepostsonsocial school thatshares thewintering,migratory orbreeding range ofthisspecies. SketchormodelaBarnSwallowusingpencil;paints;clay; Investigate ahuman-related threat toBarnSwallows,and ParticipateinCitizenSciencetolearnmore about birdsin Writeaprofessional profile for oneofthepersonnel Designafood webmodeltodisplay Initiate orparticipateinastewardship Connectwithanother BARN SWALLOW RESOURCES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYSCIENCE NATURAL ANDHUMAN-RELATED THREATS IN THE NEWS IN THE CONSERVATION ANDPOPULATION STATUS LIFE HISTORY www.ace-eco.org/vol5/iss2/art1/ • ibi.12727 survival inaNeotropical migratory songbirdhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ • vol8/iss2/art11/ • • birds-2019/ • hirundo-rustica • • sr_barn_swallow_0911_eng.pdf • canada.ca/bird-status/oiseau-bird-eng.aspx?sY=2014&sL=e&sM=a&sB=BARS • island/pei-barn-swallow-wildlife-facts-1.3637139 • • • news-story/7509873-barn-swallow-haven-reveals-a-treasure-trove-of-bird-data/ • www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/barn-swallows-decline-1.4190126?platform=hootsuite • Declines ofAerialInsectivores inNorthAmericaFollowaGeographic Gradient http:// Individual condition,butnotfledgingphenology,carriesovertoaffect post‐fledging A SynthesisofHuman-related Avian MortalityinCanada:https://www.ace-eco.org/ Wildlife Preservation Canada:https://wildlifepreservation.ca/fr/maritime-swallows/ State ofCanada’sBirdsReport(pg9):http://nabci.net/resources/state-of-canadas- BirdLife DataZone:http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/barn-swallow- IUCN RedList:https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22712252/87461332 COSEWIC StatusReport:https://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/ COSEWIC AssessmentandStatusofbirdsinCanada(2011)https://wildlife-species. 9 CoolFacts aboutBarnSwallows:https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward- Audubon: BarnSwallowhttps://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/barn-swallow All AboutBirds:BarnSwallowhttps://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow/ Barn swallowhavenreveals atreasure trove ofbirddatahttps://www.therecord.com/ Inside Ontario’sfighttosavedecliningbarnswallows, onebirdhouseatatimehttps:// BARN SWALLOW GLOSSARY eBird Diurnal COSEWIC Courtship Copulation Conservation Clutch Camouflage Call Brood Patch Brood Breeding Breeding Behavior Breeding Bird Banding Biodiversity Aves Altricial young Alternate plumage Aerial Insectivore Habitat Food Web Food Chain Flyway Fledge Feathers Field Marks Environment Endangered Ecosystem Birds thatare activeduringthedayandsleepatnight Committee oftheStatusEndangered Wildlife inCanada(www.cosewic.ca ) Displays orritualsperformed toattract amate The matingprocess whichfertilizes theeggtoinitiatedevelopmentofembryo and ofwildlife The preservation, protection, orrestoration ofwildlife andthenatural environment The numberofeggsafemale laysinasinglenestingattempt A changeinregional orglobalclimatepatterns The coloration ofanorganism thatmatchesitsenvironment toconcealitself Short andsimplebirdsounds.Communicatelocation,hunger,danger The patchoffeatherless skinonundersideofbirdsfor incubationduringnesting The numberofbirdshatchedfrom asingleclutchofeggs The moltusedduringthebreeding season(malesare usuallymore colorful) Behavior exhibitedtoattract amate(brightplumage,singing,drumming,dancing) To mateandproduce offspring band tothelegandreleasing itbackintothewild A techniqueusedtostudyandtrack individualbirdsbyattachinga numbered metal ‘Bio’ meansLife; ‘Diversity’meansvariety; thevariety oflife forms The classofanimalsknownas“birds” Birds bornnaked,blindanddependentonparental care (Ex.mostsongbirds) The feather moltofbirdsduringnon-breeding periods An (bird,bat,insect)thatfeeds oninsectswhileinflight (food, water,shelter,andspace) A placewhere ananimalmakesitshome andmeetsallofitsneedsfor survival The combinedinteractions betweendifferent speciesinanecologicalcommunity Direct linksofenergy transfer betweenorganisms Flight route usedbymigratory birdsbetween theirwinteringandbreeding locations When youngbirdsleavethenest waterproofing, camouflageandcourtship. External, ‘feathered’ projections ofthe skinuniquetobirds.Aidinflight,insulation, Visible characteristics ofabird(color,wingbars,billshape) A speciesthatisnolongerlivingonEarth An area characterised byconditionsintheclimate, soil,terrain, andlivingorganisms A speciesthatisindangerofbecomingextinct The hard-shelledstructure laidbybirdscontainingembryo,yolk,andwhite Combination ofalllivingandnon-livingthingsthatinteract inanenvironment A globalCitizenSciencedatabaseofbirdobservations (www.ebird.org ) BARN SWALLOW GLOSSARY Wintering Threatened Stopover Stewardship Species Songs Scrape Roost Preen Precocial young Population Plumage Nocturnal Nest Migrant Neotropical Nanotag Motus WTS Molt Migration Juvenile IUCN Invasive Species Incubation Herbivores Hatch To spendthe winter;oftenthenon-breeding stage A speciesatriskofbecoming endangered Kingdom; Phylum;Class;Order; Family; Genus;Species The classificationoforganisms toassignnamesandrelationships A briefstayduringthecourseofamigration torest andbuildenergy reserves Responsible activitiestoprotect andenhancetheenvironment natural conditions Individuals ofthesameorganism thatcanbreed andproduce fertile offspringunder Loud vocalizationsusedtoattract matesorasterritorialdefense A shallowdepression usedbyground birdsasanest(Ex.Killdeer) A placefor temporary rest orsleep To cleanandpositionfeathers withabeak Birds bornfullyfeathered, mobile,andactive(Ex.ducks,geese,shorebirds) The numberofindividualsaparticularspeciesindefinedarea The colourandpatternsoffeathers The scientificstudyofbirds Birds thatare activeatnightandsleepduringtheday Shelter prepared bybirdsfor layingeggsandraising young A long-distantmigrating birdthatwintersinthetropics °N. andbreeds northof23 a receiver (birds,bats,insects)todeterminelocationanddate/timewhendetectedby Small radio transmitters thatemitauniquesignal(frequency). Affixedtosmall receivers totrack smallanimalsacross thelandscape Motus Wildlife Tracking System,alarge-scale networkofautomatedradio telemetry The process oflosingandreplacing feathers for breeding andmigration. and survival needs Movement ofaspeciesfrom oneplacetoanother;usuallyfor breeding, foraging, A youngbirdthathasfledgedthenestandisindependentofparental care natural worldandthemeasures neededtosafeguard it(www.iucn.org) International Unionfor theConservation ofNature; globalauthorityonthestatusof impact onthedynamicsofnatural community A plantorananimalthatisnon-nativetotheenvironment andishavinganegative development The process ofkeepingeggswarm(orcool)tomaintaintemperature for Primary consumers;organisms thateatplants(primaryproducers) Process ofbabybirdbreaking outofanegg BARN SWALLOW A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O

1 1

2 Greenland 2 () 3 3

4 Anchorage 4 Iqaluit 5 Whitehorse Yellowknife Coats Island 5

6 Canada Mingan Archipelago 6 National Edmonton Park Reserve St. John's 7 Moosonee 7 Regina Winnipeg Victoria Québec 8 Olympia Helena Montréal 8 Kingston Nantucket Portland Island 9 Erie 9 Cape May Sacramento Denver Cincinnati 10 United States 10 Phoenix Atlanta 11 11 New Orleans Galveston 12 Bahamas 12

13 Cuba Dominican 13 Republic Mexico City 14 Antigua 14 Belize Haiti France Honduras 15 Guatemala Tobago 15 Trinidad Suriname Panama El Salvador Caracas Guyana Colón Panama City French 16 Nicaragua 16 Guiana Costa Bogota 17 17 Rica Colombia 18 18 Ecuador 19 Peru 19 Brazil 20 20 Lima Brasíila 21 Bolivia 21 Sucre 22 22 Paraguay 23 Chile 23

24 24 Santiago 25 Buenos Aires 25 Uruguay 26 26

27 27

28 28 Rio Grande 29 Km 29

30 0 1,000 30

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Greenland (Denmark)

Anchorage Iqaluit Coats 50°N Whitehorse Yellowknife Island

Canada Mingan Archipelago 35°N

45°N National Edmonton St. Park Reserve John's Moosonee Regina Winnipeg Victoria Québec

40°N Olympia Helena Montréal 30°N Kingston Portland Nantucket United Island States Erie 35°N Cape May Sacramento Denver Cincinnati 25°N 30°N Phoenix Atlanta New

Orleans 20°N Galveston 25°N Mexico Bahamas 15°N 20°N Cuba Dominican Mexico Republic City 15°N Belize Jamaica Haiti 10°N Honduras Guatemala Caracas Suriname 10°N El Salvador Panama Guyana 5°N Colón Panama French Nicaragua City Venezuela 5°N Bogota Guiana Costa 0° Rica Colombia 0° 5°S

5°S Ecuador Peru 10°S 10°S Lima Brazil Bolivia Brasíila 15°S 15°S

Sucre 20°S 20°S

Chile Paraguay 25°S 25°S Argentina 30°S 30°S Santiago Buenos Aires 35°S

Uruguay 35°S 40°S 40°S 45°S

Rio

Grande 45°S

50°S Km

0 1,000 55°S

170°W 160°W 150°W 140°W 130°W 120°W 110°W 100°W 90°W 80°W 70°W 60°W 50°W 40°W 30°W 20°W 10°W 0° 10°E