TREE SWALLOW NESTING PROJECTS, INC.
a California non-profit public benefit corporation, ID# 77-0437605

Golondrinas de las Americas

2001 marked the first year of TSNP's participation in Golondrinas de las Americas .  Following is an excerpt from the Golondrinas web site; and a map of the swallow ranges currently part of this exciting project:

Golondrinas de las Americas is a community of biologists dedicated to studying tree swallows and their tropical nearest relatives from Alaska to Argentina, combining detailed studies of the breeding biology of the birds with standardized sampling of the swallows' aerial insect prey. Swallows in the genus Tachycineta are totally dependent on other species for manufacturing the tree holes (or nest boxes) that they require for breeding, and they are thus:

•  uncommonly tenacious and resistant to disturbance

•  excellent subjects for detailed observations and experiments

•  rich sources of educational opportunities with students of a broad range of ages and abilities.

Members of our research collective are expected to gather a nominal quantity of data in a standardized way on non-experimental nests and send these data to Cornell. Our long-term study will monitor the effects of weather and insect density on avian breeding on both short and long time scales at a hierarchy of spatial scales across the entire Western Hemisphere. This long-term, correlative monitoring has obvious merit for studies of:

• global change

• differences between tropical and temperate ecosystems

• tropical-temperate life history difference in birds and insects

On shorter time-horizons we envision a set of detailed standardized observations and experiments conducted at a sub-set of nests at each site across the entire collective. For most members, the opportunity to take an active part in the design and execution of research projects to be conducted at all sites in the collective is likely the greatest attractant to membership.
We know of no other opportunity to test hypotheses and make standardized observations in this way across the entire Western Hemisphere. We are trying to attract the widest possible array of biologists to this group, both on the ornithological and entomological end and are seeking funds for a range of needs to develop this collective.