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Here your airy nest you build;
And, when bright days cease to smile,
Fly to Memphis or the Nile”
– Jacob Henry Studer, 1840-1904, “Birds of North America” (1903)
Once caught by the thousands to be used in women’s hats, eating insects literally on the fly, and returning year after year to the same nesting sites, the American barn swallow is one of the harbingers of summer. A beautiful low-flying bird, I always look forward to the spring nesting ritual and the summer babies emerging from the nest.
The barn swallow is also the species the slaughter of which aroused in the mind of George Bird Grinnell such indignation that he wrote a vigorous article in 1886 on the incredible waste of bird life for millinery. That of course soon led to the founding of the first Audubon Society.
On the farm the comings and goings of the barn swallow is as familiar as the clucking of the hen or the challenge of the rooster, albeit a bit more melodious though no less beneficial.
Reportedly this species eats 70 percent of its diet in large flies, and having them around a farm or any other area that is prone to large populations of unwanted flying insects is immensely useful.
When they forage they fly low to the ground with their mouth wide open “catching” flies, mosquitoes, moths and other insects. Not one to allow an opportunity to go by they often will get an easy feed by following the tractor out in the field to “catch” the insects the tractor dusts up.
The barn swallow is a very cosmopolitan bird, having the widest distribution of all the swallows, with different subspecies nesting in North America, Europe and Asia.
Being a long distance migrant, they adjust to the seasons so that they can follow the warmth. In western North America they summer from the southern parts of Alaska to the central parts of Mexico, and they winter from south Mexico to the lowland portions of South America.
Their Latin name (Hirundo rustica) literally means “swallow of the country” so of course they are usually found in open habitats such as marshes, lakeshores, fields and farms. Their nests are typically a cup or funnel made of mud, clay, grass and plant stems.
In today’s world they tend to attach the nest to the side of a wall or on top of a ledge, and they prefer old comfortable barns with open rafters that make it easy for them to get in and out of while providing needed shelter. Before barns they would have resorted to nesting in the caves and crags found in the natural world but they have adapted well to human structures.
Female barn swallows lay between three to seven eggs, which are of a creamy white color marked with dark brown.
Watch out if you are around a barn swallow nest, for they will defend it by swooping down and around any creature great or small that comes near the nest.
Both parents assist in the incubation, which lasts about two weeks, and once the eggs have hatched both parents take care of the young. After about three weeks the young will leave the nest.
A monogamous yet social bird species, barn wwallows tend to occur in small flocks and are often seen perching in a row atop a power line or fence.
The song of the barn swallow is a cheerful warble, but I can always tell when the barn cat is around for their call sharpens and quickens.
The barn swallow is a common bird, found abundantly across the state. They are protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, but as the plight of the passenger pigeon reminds us, just because a bird is abundant doesn’t mean it is safe.
Climate change may affect them in a variety of ways. Any drought can cause weight loss and slow feather regrowth, and hot dry summers will reduce the availability of insect food for chicks.
Many aspects of their ecology may also be affected by climate change, such as earlier springs that may cause some birds to migrate earlier due to the warmer temperatures.
As the saying goes, “One swallow doesn’t make a summer.” I do hope our beautiful guests of the summer will remain abundant for many generations to come.
Debra Chase is the executive director of Tuleyome, a local nonprofit working to protect both our wild heritage and our agricultural heritage for future generations. She resides on a small family farm in Colusa County. Visit the group online at www.tuleyome.org .
Bob Anthony Marino, 47, of Campbell and Rochelle Monique Eblen, 32, of San Jose were arrested by California Officer Steve Curtis on Friday morning, according to CHP Officer Steve Tanguay.
Tanguay said Curtis stopped Marino and Eblen for speeding shortly before 8 a.m. at Highway 29 and B Street south of Lower Lake.
When Curtis approached the vehicle he smelled marijuana, said Tanguay.
That led to a vehicle search, Tanguay said. When Curtis looked through the vehicle, he allegedly found not just marijuana but methamphetamine and 200 to 300 fireworks.
The fireworks Curtis found weren't just little bottle rockets and sparklers but mortars and other major explosives, said Kelseyville Fire Battalion Chief Joe Huggins.
Huggins estimated the cache of fireworks found was between 75 and 85 pounds. “These are flat out high explosive – the bad stuff,” he said.
CHP called Kelseyville Fire and said they had seized the fireworks, Huggins explained.
Kelseyville Fire then took the fireworks, photographed them and wrote a report, and contacted the state fire marshal, Huggins explained.
The amount of fireworks is so large that Huggins said the state fire marshal's office will send an investigator to collect the fireworks and take them back to the state offices in Sacramento.
Huggins said they had never seen such a large fireworks seizure. Tanguay added that since he came in Lake County in 2001, this was by far the biggest batch of seized fireworks he had seen.
Eblen was booked on felony charges of possession of a controlled substance and impersonating another individual, plus a misdemeanor bench warrant, possession of controlled substance paraphernalia and giving false identification to a peace officer. Her bail was set at $25,000.
Officials booked Marino on felony charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, transporting a controlled substance and illegal possession of an explosive, and misdemeanor charges of selling or using unclassed fireworks and possession fireworks without a permit. His bail was set at $15,000.
Both Eblen and Marino posted bail later in the day to gain their release from jail.
Officials weren't sure if Eblen and Marino were visiting the county or simply passing through.
With local officials concerned about dry conditions and the July 4 weekend, Huggins said, “This kind of stuff's not going to be tolerated any more.”
Eblen and Marino are scheduled to be in court next month.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The crash occurred at about 8 p.m. Friday near the Le Trianon Resort, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP, the Lake County Sheriff's Office and Northshore Fire were among the responders to the crash, which reports from the scene said involved more than one vehicle, one of which was overturned.
The blocked roadway didn't open up again until nearly 9 p.m.
In the mean time, a REACH helicopter transported one of the subjects to an area hospital, while two others went to Sutter Lakeside, the CHP reported.
Major injuries were reported, but the identify of the injured and specifics about their conditions were not available late Friday.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The Board of Prison Terms denied parole to Jane “Daisy” Benson, 61, on June 24.
Bensen currently is serving a 17-years-to-life sentence at the California Institute for Women in Chino, according to a Friday statement from the Lake County District Attorney's Office.
On April 1, 1988, Benson was convicted of the second-degree murder of Elaine Wright and of using a firearm to commit the crime, and sentenced to 17 years to life by Judge Robert L. Crone Jr. Stephen O. Hedstrom, who is currently a Superior Court Judge for Lake County, prosecuted Benson.
The murder occurred on June 16, 1987.
Benson went to Wright's residence on Manchester Street in Clearlake to confront her and her boyfriend, because the boyfriend had stolen some property from Benson, according to the case background.
Benson entered the victim’s bedroom with a handgun, where the victim and her boyfriend were lying in bed, and fired two shots into the floor. Both the boyfriend and Benson exited the bedroom briefly, then Benson re-entered the bedroom to again confront the victim.
Witnesses inside the residence heard another shot, and found the victim in bed shot once in the heart.
Benson claimed that she accidentally shot the victim when she was bumped from behind by someone causing the gun to discharge. However, all witnesses at the scene stated that at the time the victim was shot, the only two people in the room were Benson and the victim.
Deputy District Attorney Edward M. Borg participated in the parole hearing from Lake County by video-conferencing to argue against Benson’s release. The video conferencing was arranged by the District Attorney’s Office to avoid having to send a representative to the prison facility. This saved the county and taxpayers funds that would have had to be spent for motel, air flight, car rental and meals for a deputy district attorney to make an in-person appearance at the hearing in Chino.
During the video conference hearing, Borg argued that the time Benson had spent in custody was not sufficient punishment considering the callousness of the crime and Benson’s consistent unwillingness to accept full responsibility for the murder.
Borg further argued that, based upon prison psychiatric reports, Benson still presented an unreasonable risk of danger to others if released because of her lack of insight into her actions and her lack of strategies to avoid re-offending if she were released.
At the parole hearing, Benson continued to claim that the shooting was accidental.
The Board of Prison Terms ruled Benson was unsuitable for parole.
She first became eligible for parole in 1999. This was Benson’s sixth appearance before the Board of Prison Terms to request parole.
Her last parole hearing was on June 26, 2008. The Board of Prison Terms found Benson to be suitable for parole after that hearing; however, that decision was subsequently overturned by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The first fire, in grass along Highway 53 near Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, was reported about 3:30 p.m. Friday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
That fire was small and quickly contained; Cal Fire didn't have information on its size.
Later, another fire was reported north of Lakeport at Bridge Arbor Drive.
That fire, contained just after 6 p.m., burned about three acres, according to Cal Fire.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The metal building burned late Tuesday afternoon at the Scotts Valley Road property of Doug Patten, as Lake County News has reported.
“The preliminary report is that it's going to be electrical,” said Lakeport Fire Protection District Chief Ken Wells.
Wells said the building itself is “the only ignition source in that area.”
Wells and his department were on scene Tuesday along with personnel from Cal Fire, the US Department of Forestry and Kelseyville Fire, as Lake County News has reported.
Patten had done a controlled burn on his property that afternoon, but that fire had been out before Patten left his property to attend a funeral, according to reports from the initial scene.
“It was just a fluke that earlier on that day he was doing an economic variance burn,” said Wells.
Although a general burn ban is on, Doug Gearhart, pollution control officer with the Lake County Air Quality Management District, said Patten had a valid economic exemption permit that allowed him to legally burn as part of his agricultural operation.
He said the burn site for the economic exemption had been inspected by Lakeport Fire for fire safety prior to the burn.
All economic exemption burn sites have to be inspected and declared fire safe by the appropriate fire agency before the air district will process a request for an economic exemption, said Gearhart.
He added that the economic exemption burn at this site was approved for the hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at which time the fire was required to be dead out.
The burn, Wells explained, was conducted so Patten could remove a pile of of debris from his pasture. But he had flooded it with water to make sure it was out.
Wells had no estimate for the total cost of damages, which included a vintage Jeep parked in the building, as well as tools.
Patten did have defensible space – which is 100 feet of clearance from brush and weeds – around his buildings, which Wells emphasized is crucial at this time of year.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
