Origin of the Flight: Goya, Corrientes, Argentina

Destination. Capistrano    –and points North, California, USA

DATA    1. Distance of total flight . . . 12,000 km.    2. Distance of each segment . . . 450 km.    3. Number of segments . . . 30    4. Type of flight . . . . . VFR (daylight)    5. Total Real time of flight. . 450 hours    6. Total calendar time . . . 30 days    7. Total fuel consumption . . . 120 gm.    8. Fuel performance . . . 0.01 gm. Grams per kilometer    9. Cruising velocity . . . . 30 km./hour   10. P.M.D. (maximum weight at takeoff). 280 gm.

Migration

Cliff and barn swallows winter in South America. They begin a northward migration in late winter and early spring overland through Central America and Mexico. Swallows migrate during the day and catch flying insects along the way. They will not penetrate regions unless flying insects are available for food, which occurs after a few days of relatively warm weather, 60 to 70 degrees F (16 to 21 degrees C) or more. Arrival dates can vary greatly with weather conditions. In general, cliff and barn swallows enter the southern United States in mid-March to Mid-April and reach the northern portions of their range by early June.

Site Selection

Swallows have a homing tendency toward previous nesting sites. Under suitable conditions, a nest is quite durable and may be used in successive years. Most cliff swallows arrive at a particular colony within a 24-hour period. At large colonies, swallows may arrive in successive waves. Resident adults are the first to return, followed by adults who bred at other colonies, and by young swallows who have not yet bred. The younger swallows include individuals not born at the selected colony.

Nest Construction

Barn swallow nests are cup-shaped rather than gourd-shaped, and the mud pellets contain coarse organic matter such as grass stems, horse hairs, and feathers. The nest cup is profusely lined with grasses and feathers, especially white feathers. Barn swallow nests are also typically built under eaves or similarly protected sites but not necessarily at the highest point possible. Barn swallows often use a beam or the protruding edge of a door or window jamb as the base for the nest, or attach the nest at the juncture of the two walls of an interior corner.

Both male and female cliff and barn swallows construct the nest, proceeding slowly to allow the mud to dry and harden. Depending on mud supply and weather, nest construction may take 1 to 2 weeks. Mud is collected at ponds, puddles, ditches, and other sites up to 1/2 mile (0.8 km) away, with many swallows using the same mud source. A typical cliff swallow nest contains 900 to 1400 pellets, each representing one trip to and from the nest.

Among cliff swallows, mud gathering and nest construction are social activities; even unmated swallows will start nests. Mated swallows may build more than one nest per season, even though not all will be used. A count of nests under construction will not give an accurate estimate of the number of breeding cliff swallows.

Egg Laying

Cliff swallows usually begin laying eggs before the entrance tunnel is completed. Each day 1 egg is laid until the clutch, usually 3 or 4 eggs, is completed. In Texas, egg laying may begin as early as late March to early April, while in North Dakota nesting may not start until early to mid-June. Within a large colony, the date of egg laying varies due to staggered arrival dates of the swallows. For small colonies, laying may be more synchronous.

Barn swallows typically lay 4 or 5 eggs, but laying may be delayed for some time after nest building is completed. The breeding season begins in early April in the south to mid-June in the northern portions of the range. Barn swallows are double-brooded, resulting in a prolonged nesting season.

Nest Failures

Renesting will occur if nests or eggs are destroyed. Nests may fall because they are built too rapidly or crumble because of prolonged humid weather or rain. House sparrows (Passer domesticus) sometimes usurp empty swallow nests and may also drive off swallows from new nests. A cliff swallow nest taken over by house sparrows is identified by the abundant nest lining (grasses, weeds, feathers, and litter) protruding out of the entrance tunnel. Cats associated with farm and other buildings are common predators of barn swallows.

Hatching

Both sexes incubate the eggs. Incubation begins before the last egg is laid and ranges from 12 to 16 days for cliff swallows and 13 to 17 days for barn swallows. Whitewash on the ground below the nest or on the rim of the nest entrance is a sign of newly hatched nestlings inside the nest.

Cliff swallow nestlings fledge 20 to 25 days after hatching; barn swallows fledge in 17 to 24 days. The juvenile swallows appear similar to adults but are dull colored and have less sharply-defined color patterns. The fledglings return to the nest each day for 2 to several days to be fed before leaving it permanently. Within a week, juveniles will join flocks and leave the area.

At least some cliff swallows raise 2 broods in a breeding season. Second broods are documented from Virginia and West Virginia but are uncommon in central California. Late nests may result from renesting attempts after a first failure, or from late nesters. The time from start of nest building to departure is 44 to 64 days: 7 to 14 days nest building, 3 to 6 days egg laying, 12 to 16 days incubation, 20 to 25 days to fledging, and 2 or 3 days to leave the nest. Reports of colony occupancy ranging from 110 to 132 days indicate ample time for 2 broods.

After leaving the nest, swallows may remain in the general area for several weeks. By late summer there is a general southward movement, and by the end of September few swallows remain in the nest site. Fall migration of swallows is not well documented.

Damage

Cliff swallows nest in colonies and often live in close association with humans. Many swallow colonies on buildings and other structures are innocuous. In some situations, however, they can become a major nuisance, primarily because of droppings they deposit. In such instances they may create aesthetic problems, foul machinery, and cause health hazards by contaminating foodstuffs. Their mud nests eventually fall to the ground and can cause similar problems. Parasites found in swallow nests, including swallow bugs, fleas, ticks, and mites, may bite humans and domestic animals, although these are not the usual hosts. In addition, cliff swallow nests are often used by house sparrows, introducing another avian pest and its attendant damage problems and potential health hazards.

Barn swallows nesting singly or in small groups on a structure can cause similar problems but of a lesser magnitude due to the smaller numbers present.

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Swallow Life

Although a British saying believes that "one swallow does not a summer make," from Britain to the United States, residents tired of winter seek the sign of the first swallow to mark the beginning of spring. Before the 19th Century, many people in Britain believed that swallows spent the winter at the bottom of ponds buried in mud alongside frogs. The truth is almost as amazing. Swallows in Europe spend the winter in Africa while those in North America spend the winter South America. They make return journeys of up to 6000 miles to help us welcome spring.

In Northern California, swallows arrive as early as mid-February, spending only from November to February in sunny South America. In Britain, they begin arriving in March with the first arriving in the far north, in Northern Scotland, at the end of March and the main influx at the beginning of May.

Swallow species identification is challenging, because they fly so fast that it is difficult to see them through binoculars. However, one clue is the shape and location of the birds' homemade grass-lined mud nests. Barn swallows, the only swallow in Northern California with the classic swallow-forked tail, create cup-like nests, typically upright, on beams inside barns or other old wooden structures. Cliff Swallows, in contrast, create gourd-like nests, often hanging upside down, on the underside of bridges over water or even over freeways.

The Quest

To view swallows in the wild, make sure that it is the right time of the year: in California, from late February to early November. You can find barn swallows in areas with open fields and wooden structures. To find cliff swallows, head for your nearest bridge (including road bridges over freeways). If it is safe, cross the bridge and then look down over the side. You may see dozens and dozens of nests, some with baby birds precariously and curiously looking out and down. I wonder how they hold on? Cliff swallows should really be called bridge swallows in honor of their amazing ability to adapt their nesting strategies to human structures. Their population has been expanding as they have moved to bridges from cliffs. When you do find nesting swallows, remember that you can return to the same place year after year just as the swallows themselves, like old friends, return to the same nesting sites year after year.

Symbolism

Swallows are a symbol of the return of summer at the Mission San Juan Capistrano in Southern California. Every year on March 19, St. Joseph's Day, the mission celebrates the return of the swallow (cliff swallows in this case). The bellkeeper looks out over the horizon, and as soon as he spots the first swallow, he rings the mission bells. This meditative opening is followed by a special Mass and cultural performances. As the spring progresses, the swallows build nests in favorite mission locations, especially on the ruins of the Great Stone Church.

San Juan Capistrano has its own fanciful story about how swallows spend their time away from the mission (much as British folkore believed the swallows spent the winter at the bottom of ponds). The belief is that swallows, in preparing to migrate from Jerusalem, pragmatically take along small twigs. When they tire over the ocean, they drop the twigs on the waves and sleep on top of them. In reality, the swallows migrate 6000 miles from Argentina.

- Source Unknown

Pacific Swallow

Hirundo tahitica

Layang Layang Pasifik (Malay)

Pacific Swallows eat insects, catching them during flight. To feast on swarming insects, they may join other birds like Swifts. But unlike Swifts that simply trawl the air with their mouths open, Swallows don't hunt on the wing. They perch and wait, then actually chase after individual prey and perform aerial acrobatics to catch them. Swallows also hunt at lower levels than Swifts. Unlike Swifts, Swallows can perch and also come to the ground to drink or gather nesting material.

The miracle of the "Swallows" of Capistrano takes place each year at the Mission San Juan Capistano, on  March 19th, St. Joseph's Day.  As the little birds wing their way back to the most famous Mission in California, the village of San Juan Capistrano takes on a fiesta air and the visitors from all parts of the world, and all walks of life, gather in great numbers to witness the "miracle" of the return of the swallows.

Each year the "Scout Swallows" precede the main flock by a few days and it seems to be their chief duty to clear the way for the main flock to arrive at the "Old Mission" of Capistrano.

With the arrival of early dawn on St. Joseph's Day, the little birds begin to arrive and begin rebuilding their mud nests, which are clinging to the ruins of the old stone church of San Juan Capistrano. The arches of the two story, high vaulted Chapel were left bare and exposed, as the roof collapsed during the earthquake of 1812. This Chapel, said to be the largest and most ornate in any of the missions, now has a more humble destiny--that of housing the birds that St. Francis loved so well.

After the summer spent within the sheltered walls of the Old Mission in San Juan Capistrano, the swallows take flight again, and on the Day of San Juan, October 23, they leave after circling the Mission bidding farewell to the "JEWEL OF ALL MISSIONS" San Juan Capistrano, California.

In the Rotarian spirit, when two cities have a link, whether it is by folklore or of the soul, they declare themselves sister cities. Goya, in the province of Corrientes, next to the deep river Paraná, and San Juan Capistrano, always and each year exactly on the same day, the day of Saint Joseph, in mid-morning.

When the first band arrives, some one hundred swallows, as for two hundred swallows, as for two hundred years, the bells of the old Franciscan monastery ring while the swallows descend to a sow altitude, reconnoitering the terrain to the delight of thousands of tourists, among them many children that had arrived in order to be present for their arrival. They arrive in search of the sunny valleys of California, the immense vineyards that produce strong wine, the "Italy - Swiss wine" and the interminable fruit orchards in the welcoming slopes of the Sierras, in the Andes of the north.

In truth, they have been arriving for centuries and millennia to fulfill faithfully their biologic destiny: to live and reproduce themselves in benign climates within a harmonious scheme of control and regulation of insects and plagues. That is their destiny in the integral plan of nature.

Feeding themselves on insects, spiders, flies, worms, the reason for their incredible voracity is the following:

1. To feed themselves, in order to live and reproduce, and 2. To store fat in their tissues, which will be their fuel for the return flight.

For centuries the origin of the migration was unknown in Capistrano, as if to say that the airport of origin was unknown, until in the present century the origin of migration was able to be determined exactly: Goya, Corrientes, Argentina.

24,000 Kilometers! (That's 15,000 miles)

 

 

I studied their flights and routes and have the certainty that they complete a fantastic flight of 12,000-kilometer (7,500 miles) to Capistrano, and completing the 24,000 kms. With a return flight, almost a complete flight around the planet earth.

Under the Roman arches of the corridors of the Franciscan monastery of Capistrano, that has more than three centuries of existence, and dates from the Spanish conquest, a lay brother helped me in this investigation.

Thus I found that the swallows leave Goya on the 18th day of February, at dawn, in successive bands, and that they arrive all together in Capistrano on the 19th day of March, taking exactly thirty days to cover 12,000 kms.

During the flight, that is to say, during the thirty days that the voyage lasts, they do not eat or drink, since they fly from dawn to sunset in order not to waste time.

They fly at an altitude of more than 2,ooo kms. (6,600 ft.) In order to take advantage of the fast and favorable currents (tail winds) and, besides, because at that altitude they avoid plundering birds.

Their flight plan lasts fifteen hours of flight daily, in steps of 450 kms. With a velocity of 30 kms. (18 miles) per hour, always taking advantage of the wines.

The flight that begins in Goya follows the valleys of the Paraná and Paraguay rivers, until reaching Lake Mirin, following the dynamic currents that produce he large masses of air of the south that move towards the equator.

After Mirin, their route changes to the west, in search of the valleys of the Andes and, later crossing the equator, they go to a higher flight altitude in order to take advantage of the dynamic currents that produce the large masses of air that move towards the North Pole.They do not cross the Andes until they have reached the Gulf of Mexico, and by way of the Yucatan they look for the west and the Pacific, in order to fly along the shore of Baja California and enter the valley of Riverside.

Already in California, and after the reception of the ringing of the friendly bells, they become a decisive factor in the complex establishing of a healthy environmental balance of diseases, regulating the harvest of fruits, while accumulating reserves of fat that will be the fuel for the return flight. Fuel The fat that accumulates in their tussues is equivalent to the combustible liquid of the tank of an airplane.

For their long flight, the same coming as returning (12,000 kms. Each way), of 30 journeys of 450 kms., each swallow stores during his stop 120 grams of fat, that is a "full tank." As a pilot at the command of a long distance flight would say.

It is significant that during the 120 days that their insecticidal campaign lasts, according to my calculations, he swallow must ingest 1,000 insects daily, between flies, spiders and worms.

A detail in order to appreciate the significance of the number mentioned above for the biological and environmental equilibrium, is that a single band of swallows destroys, in one campaign, a billion insects, a result that no insecticide would be able to do better, and all without causing the least danger, neither to man nor to his fauna nor flora. It is a work unpublished and exceptional, carried out equally as much in Goya as in Capistrano.

The range of its "full tank" of 120 grams of fat, is no less than 12,000 kms. At an hourly velocity of 30 kms. With a consumption per kilometer of0.01 grams. A medium jet (727) would have required 100 thousand kilograms of "JPI", a fuel especially for urbines, whose estimated costs is 60 cents per liter.

I remained intrigued with all that I investigated in Capistrano and returned to Nevada and my work table, in order to study the principals of this fantastic flight.'

I was interested in the relation of the Operational Performances between a swallow flying a "Long Range" (long distance) and a medium jet, also on "Long Range."

Therefore I calculated and compared fat-calories with JPI-calories and found that the ratio of the PDM, (maximum weight of [decolaje] of a Boeing 737 and a swallow is simply incredible.

The jet taking the 737 (two turbines, low consumption), burns 15 kilograms (minimum) per kilometer, while the swallow burns only 0.01 grams of fat, signifying that the consumption of the jet is a million times greater.

The Boeing engineers have made their things well enough, and with the new equipment for the year 2000, with new motors, wings of fibers in the third millennium they will bring about an unbelievable race in order to catch up to the performance of the swallows. You should not forget, dear reader, that for the engineers of Boeing, it was only several decades ago that they did their apprenticeship, while for the birds from the Mesozioc Age, 65 million years ago, the perfecting of it took them 63 million years, until the Cenozoic Age. Besides, the jet, a gigantic metallic swallow, takes you, by the same rout (almost) with a velocity and comfort that the atavistic urgency of the swallows does not demand, but that man requests.

We believe that in interesting, in any case, to take a trip to Capistrano in March in order to feel, as I, the emotion of the bells ringing as centuries ago, to greet the arrival of the Correntians swallows. And, to have more reason for believing in God and feeling happy to live on the planet earth, and to enjoy together the children that congregate there every year, not being subjugated by the incredible efficiency of the swallows in fantastic flight but for the poetic magic of the dream of an even more incredible than the flight itself.

By Enrique Bermudez - courtesy of Para Todos Magazine - www.paratodos.com

Correspondent in Argentina Pedro Iribarren, Director/Proprietor of the journal NUEVA ETAPA of Mar de Plata, Argentina translation by Charles Heizman.