Tree Swallows

It is near the end of June and a time for taking flight. All around the lake this year’s crop of young birds are ready to come tumbling out of the nest and take to the air with the joyous and hesitant antics of the adolescent.

We have a number of tree swallows nesting on our property. They arrive shortly after the robins, take a couple of weeks to settle in and then get about the business of raising a family. I am told that an individual swallow can dispose of more than a thousand mosquitoes in a single day so their presence is more than welcome. Any help in keeping down the insect population is. Tree swallows I have also learned, do not build a nest as such but use feathers and other soft things to dress up an existing hollow or bole in a tree, hence the name. They are also prone to use a nesting box when one is available. It happens that we built and hung a number of these all around the house some 10 - 15 years ago - time does fly. A variety of birds have used the boxes over the years but the one just off our front deck is occupied every year by a pair of tree swallows. The box is mounted on an aspen tree about 15 feet off the ground and is clearly visible from our front deck and lakeside kitchen window. Of course it is hard to tell whether it is the same birds that return each year but we like to think that they are of the same family that has been coming back for the last ten years. We may well be into generation number two or three.

For several weeks each summer from their arrival, during the courtship, the egg production, the feeding and the first flight, the birds are a continual source of entertainment. Their joyful arrival is celebrated with a very enthusiastic circling flight pattern all around our front yard that lasts for most of the first day. Their antics are accompanied with a remarkable repertoire of peeps, trits and weets. It is difficult to mimic or associate their vocals with a written word but the sound is definitely upbeat and a treat to listen to.

For this year the fun is over. During the past week we were treated to a bird house peep show as the young birds kept popping their heads out of the hole like finger puppets in some bizarre natural show and tell - no doubt they where trying to familiarize themselves with the hazards of that first step. Yesterday in a hilarious push, shove and jump display of sibling challenge, both the young - for there were only two - leaped into space for their first flight - very successful and funny to watch. Here’s hoping that their experience will be long and lasting and that they return again next year.