[birdky] barn swallows
- From: "Marsh, Scott" <SMarsh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "birdky" <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "ASK Freelists" <ask@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2012 07:14:58 -0400
Rhonda and I took in a bird behavior I had not seen before, at least not
by barn swallows. Our evening walk got started later than normal
Saturday night and we found ourselves arriving at the "protected
wetland" area in the neighborhood. This only means that aren't mowing
it; there is no actual protecting taking place. It includes a couple of
ponds and a nice stand of cattail.
Anyway, the behavior. I noticed a good number of swallows in the air as
we approached the cattails and then noted large numbers setting in the
cattails. They were behaving much like martins going to roost; circling
and dropping in. It was quite dark and I wasn't wearing my glasses,
essential for detail in such light, but most of the 200 plus seemed to
be barn swallows. I thought I was seeing a couple tree swallows. They
seemed to have the resident redwings alarmed.
It brought back memories of my grandfather's feed barn that would easily
house 50 pair every year. They were a fixture on the farm; following the
mower in the fields, sweeping in and out of every afforded crevice of
the barn especially the broken pane my grandfather never fixed (for them
I suspect), and growing and gathering in mass on the power line as the
summer went on.
Scott Marsh
Lexington
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