They're Back!

A nesting barn swallow.

On Thursday, March 5th, the swallows returned. You may wonder how I can be so exact in my claim. Swallows are very distinctive, in call and behavior, so their return was very easily noted. I can say with confidence, they were not in our yard on Wednesday, or even Thursday morning when I left for work, but that evening they were swooping around the yard, calling out their return.

They were so excited to be back that at 4am Friday, under heavy clouds and a thick fog, they were still out celebrating, their distinctive twittering song warbling through the heavy fog to reveal them overhead. It was dark, and the fog so thick, that it almost felt like a moment in a horror movie when impending doom is revealed by a sound coming from apparently nowhere. (Writer's Note: this is an example of anthropomorphism. I doubt the swallows were actually excited or planning my demise in the heavy fog.)

The swallows feel like old friends when they return; although having lived here for ten years now, we are probably into our third or fourth generation of birds. They do like to return to old nests and pair up during mating season to raise their chicks together. Some pairs do pair together for multiple years, but research proves they are not monogamous, noting about 20% of eggs in a nest are typically from a different male than the paired partner.

We have a nest in our soffit that is used every year. The swallows push up a loose piece of soffit to access the nest and then abandon it once the chicks can fly. Last year we had a second pair build a nest in a corner of our deck, building onto an abandoned mud dauber wasp nest. They raised four chicks directly over our heads.

The swallows have a distinctive forked tail and reddish face. Their bellies are light colored and their backs and wings are a deep, indigo blue that when the light hits them perfectly reveals shades of purple--simply magnificent. They hunt in groups, swooping over the yard to pluck insects from the air. In the summer, they accompany me when I mow, swooping all around me as I cross the yard, taking advantage of how the mower disturbs the insects and makes them take flight. The swallows frequently swoop around me while I am outside with the dogs as if acknowledging my support.

It is wonderful to have them back. Not only because it signals spring is just around the corner, but because it feels like a sign to remember that the world still exists outside of the bullsh*t of our politics and behaviors.

Happy Spring! We cannot abide cruelty, so don't.

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