BIRDS SNUB PARTY; SWALLOW DAY RINGS HOLLOW.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

Usually Robert Birk's dilemma is that he has too many swallows nesting in the eaves of his administration building at the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant.

There were so many, in fact, that Tillman officials decided to capitalize on the situation and create an annual Swallows Day each April at the adjacent Japanese Garden.

But Saturday at the garden's third annual Swallows Day, Birk could only point to the empty nests left behind from last year's flock. There was not a swallow in sight.

``Usually by this time of year we have hundreds of them,'' said Birk, plant manager at the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant, which is adjacent to the Japanese Garden in the Sepulveda Basin. ``This is our first year with no swallows.''

Local bird watchers speculated that recent record-breaking cold temperatures in Los Angeles may be keeping the swallows away.

In San Juan Capistrano, famed for its annual March migration of swallows, the birds have returned to nest since mid-March, said Marie Jordan, a volunteer for the San Juan Capistrano Mission.

About five different species of swallows come through the San Fernando Valley, but bird watchers have seen very few of the cliff swallows that normally nest at the Sepulveda Dam and the Tillman plant, said Arthur Langton, past president of the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society.

``Certainly they're not in the numbers we would expect at this time of year. They've probably been delayed by the unseasonably cold weather,'' said Langton.

The swallows had been nesting in the Sepulveda Basin long before the administration building of the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant opened in 1985, said Birk. With an abundance of mud in the basin to build their nests, the swallows began attaching their nests to the outdoor ceilings of the plant's administration building soon after it was built, he said.

``They love it out there because of all the concrete. . . . It's a perfect spot for them.''

There were so many swallows in fact, that Birk was forced to place netting on the roof areas located over walkways so that the droppings wouldn't land on visitors.

``It was a mess and we wondered, what can we do with these things,'' said Birk. ``So we said, we'll make some use of these birds.''

That's how Swallows Day came about. Typically, the swallows arrive in March and leave by October, migrating to and from South America, according to Birk.

``I'm sure by the time summer rolls around they'll come back.''

Visitors were still able to tour the Japanese Gardens, which are maintained with reclaimed water from the Tillman plant. The plant, which also offered tours, is owned by the city of Los Angeles.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Swallows' nests from the previous year still hang at the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in the Sepulveda Basin.

(2) Saturday's swallows tour lacked one thing - swallows. Experts say they may have been driven off by the cold.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News