Portsmouth Herald News, NH – Aug 1, 2014
By Sue Kike
“Look up,and see things Fliying/between the day nigh swallows with
spools of dark thread sewing the shadows together” — From “Bat” by D.H. Lawrence
I first interacted with swallows — tree swallows in particular — when I worked at the Wells Reserve; beautiful flyers, insect eaters, however they were primarily the pesky birds that took over bluebird nesting boxes.
An experience this past weekend forever transformed my image of this bird. While out on the marsh at dusk, during a near full moon, countless tree swallows poured from the surrounding marsh and trees, waves upon waves of birds flying and wheeling over the water in front of the setting sun. It was a wonderful sight and, apparently, quite common. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Outside of the breeding season the Tree Swallow congregates into enormous flocks and night roosts, sometimes numbering in the hundreds of thousands. They gather about an hour before sunset at a roost site, forming a dense cloud. They swirl around like a living tornado and as darkness approaches they then wheel low over the cattail marsh or grove of small trees. Large numbers drop down into the roost with each pass of the flock until the flock disappears.”
Research suggests that this communal flying teaches young birds where the best foraging sites are while also joining them together for their migration south.
Tree swallows live in open areas near bodies of water and fields, especially wooded shorelines, and it is therefore relatively easy to find tree swallow habitat in York. Swallows are easily recognized; small and slender aerial feeders, they dine primarily on insects, and are usually observed darting and swooping over fields, marshes and ponds. There are five species of swallow you might see in Maine.
Tree swallows and barn swallows are the most common and they are easy to tell apart. A swallow with a deeply forked tail is a barn swallow; if it doesn’t have the deeply forked tail, it is most likely a tree swallow.
Another amazing aerial display to watch for: a tree swallow taking a bath, quite a challenge to a bird that spends little time on the ground. The tree swallow has solved this problem by skimming over the surface of the water. Lightly touching the water with its wingtips, the swallow flies upwards and shakes the water over its body.
While most of us can’t quite welcome mosquitoes into our hearts, it is important to remember how vital they are to our local bird populations. We couldn’t have flocks of thousands of tree swallows without the dense clouds of mosquitoes that sustain them. So, if you’d like to see something just as spectacular as fireworks, don some bug repellent and head to your nearest marsh at dusk to watch the aerial displays of the tree swallows.
