Last evening (29/06) I joined to Yotam Lenard and his team for ringing at a Red-rumped Swallow roost. Most of our efforts in swallow roosts is for Barn Swallows, so this ringing session is less usual for us. This particular RRS roost takes place in old and abandoned quarry; in winter the quarry collects some water and the result is a rather small and poor reedbed. But, it's located in the Jerusalem mountains, so probably this is the only reedbed in the whole region and the best site for swallow roost.
Our goal is to understand the difference in biometrics between sexes, following the conclusion that Svensson's measurements are not relevant to Israeli populations. We captured 137 swallows, about 90% were juvenile birds; probably most of the adults are still busy with their second breeding cycle. One bird was recaptured from last summer. This is the highest record of RRS ringing in Israel. I look forward to continue this monitoring.
Thank to Yotam, Gidon, Eli, Shachar, Chen, Ron and Otniel.
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| Red-rumped Swallow - adult |
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| RRS - juvenile |
