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 The
BTO Swallow Roost Project was launched in
2002 and is due to finish at the end of 2006. It is part
of a major EURING (European Union for Bird Ringing) project
on Swallows (Hirundo rustica).
The EURING project aims to collect data on breeding and migration
as well as studies on the African wintering grounds. Over
25 countries have now participated resulting in over half
a million Swallows ringed. More information on the EURING
project is available on the EURING website www.euring.org.
Ringers in Britain & Ireland are concentrating on
the pre-migratory phase of the Swallow's life, counting and
ringing Swallows at pre-migratory roost sites from shortly
after they are formed until abandonment of the roost.
The BTO Swallow Roost Project aims:
- To describe the seasonal pattern of use of Swallow roosts
throughout Britain and Ireland and the types of habitats
that are being used.
- To describe the physiological strategies of British and
Irish Swallows during the pre-migratory and migratory phases
by collecting data on weight, fat accumulation and body
condition.
- To supplement existing information on movement patterns
by collecting data on roost catchment areas and movements
between roosts.
 Ringing
takes place every seven-ten days. In addition the birds
using the roost are counted during every catching session
and more regularly if possible. In order to make the data
comparable across Europe ringers catch and accurately measure
up to a hundred birds each visit (minimum of 30
birds). To allow the catchment areas of roosts
to be identified, ringers are also being encouraged to ring
nestlings during the breeding season.
Go
to map of Swallow roost sites registered since 2002
Results
Over 38,000 juvenile and 4,505 adult Swallows have been ringed
at roosts since 2002. Click
here to see the table of results from 2002-2005.
Part of the data gathered during catches includes weights
and fat scores and the results gathered so far suggest that
our birds are only putting on 1-2g of fat before leaving to
cross to the Continent (see graph A). These preliminary results
tie in with the work that has been carried out on data from
roost sites in Italy and Spain. A study by researchers in
Italy has shown a statistically significant relationship between
the amount of fat gained by Swallows and the extent of sea
and desert to be crossed before reaching the wintering grounds.
Birds in the UK only have a short expanse of sea across the
Channel to cross before reaching the Continent. They can
then re-fuel to put on the necessary fat stores to get them
across the larger expanse of sea and over the Sahara to reach
their winter quarters.
Graph A. Average weights (g) of adults and
juveniles over roost period 2003
More results are detailed in the Swallow Roost
Project Newsletters, which can be downloaded using the links
below (note you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader- download link
at bottom of page).
Download copies
of the Swallow Roost Project Newsletters
Newsletter
Number 1 May 2003 (pdf 1.8Mb)
Newsletter
Number 2 May 2004 (pdf 764Kb)
Newsletter
Number 3 September 2005 (.pdf 1Mb )
Newsletter
Number 4 July 2006 (.pdf 1.2Mb)
Refunds
Ringers who submit their data electronically for all fully
processed Swallows ringed as part of the roost project will
receive a refund of 11p per bird, provided the data reaches
BTO HQ by 28 February the following year at the very latest.
There will also be a refund of 4p for all Swallow pulli ringed,
provided the data is submitted electronically by the cut off
date.
Submitting the data to BTO
All Swallow Roost Project data have to be submitted electronically
using IPMR. Version 2.1.75, or later, supports the extra data
fields required for the project (there is also limited support
in version 1.2.1, or later). Version 2 of IPMR requires a
slightly faster machine than v1 (at least Windows 95 and 300MHz,
64MB RAM recommended). The latest version of this software
package can be downloaded from the BTO
website or is available on CD from the . |
