One of the pleasures of summer (to me) are watching the Swallows. I allow them to build on the house or barns or wherever they want to build.
They are a lot of fun swooping for insects over the yard and farm, chasing flies and moths and mosquitoes with high dives and sharp turns…truly eating on the fly!
These little birds arrive in spring…rather the middle of spring, their long forked tails and silvery wings and orange throats are unmistakable. Throughout the day we hear their jubilant twittering-warbling, bzzzz,click-click sounds as they court each other and care for their young.
I like to look out the windows as one nest that is, well, RIGHT there. If they could they would dive-boom me, but they can’t! I’m inside…tee hee!
Then comes the day I dread…the call that goes out to all of the swallows in our area….”It is time! Hurry! Gather together! Come quickly, in singles or pairs, come all ye families; the seasons are changing, winter, that time of woe, will soon fall upon the land.”
That is when we see the electric lines starting to fill with little birds, first just a few, then gradually more and more…they swoop down upon the pinto bean field, flying over the yard, then back to sit on the electric line.
Gradually, gradually over two or three days the line grows fuller and fuller as the swallows gather from near and far. Their sounds a deafening chorus. Then one day the longing for Spring and Summer becomes too much; they lift off in a loud swoosh heading toward Central and South America.
This year I missed the huge take off; I wanted to be home for the leaving! I wanted to wave GOOD-BYE! I wanted to holler loud and clear—
“You’ll Come Back NOW…You Hear?”
The song of the swallow has fallen into silence.
We will have a few flocks of Swallows arrive off and on for a little while—Swallows moving from areas further north of us. until those brief visits are over. I will enjoy their stops for rest and for food. Then wave them on with a Good-bye and welcome to return.
Your friend,
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
how neat to see the flocks gather! i love these little bug-eaters, and their babies are some of the cutest chicks ever!
LikeLike
You wrote a beautiful essay about your swallows, but then it had to be beautiful to go with your pictures. Enjoy the swallows passing through as much as you can.
LikeLike
Love your swallows… I’ll bet you see lots of migrating birds where you are. The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks visit us in late September and again in Spring as they migrate… I posted a picture on FB today of a sweet Baby Cardinal on our deck… So adorable.
Hugs,
Betsy
LikeLike
They’ll be leaving us by the end of the month but the robins left about three weeks ago and that got me worried. I’m bringing all my plants in the next couple of days.
LikeLike
Love the little swallows. I allow one spot on the house is all. They have all the barns to build, and they do! It looks like apartment complexes. How they know their nest from the one next door, I’ll never know.
We also have mud swallows that build nests on the face of the rock out croppings. Those are cool too see.
Cheri
LikeLike
Very nice post Linda!
LikeLike
They are fun birds to watch. I don’t get to see them as “up close and personal” as you do. Love those little faces peeking out of the nest. It is sad to say good-bye to the birds who only visit for a season or two. I know I miss my feathered buddies when they fly north in the spring.
LikeLike
It is just the same here Linda. Young swallows, who have been born in our barns, and young house-martins, who have been born under the eaves of the farmhouse, are whizzing around the yard, chasing and eating insects, but also practising their flying skills and strengthening their wings for the great journey ahead. They are beginning to congregate on the wires too. The only consolation is that the departure of the swallows means the arrival of the fieldfare.s
LikeLike
Sorry you missed the leave-taking, but how wonderful that you have a gathering spot right at your place! We have to drive over across the river to see them, and for the most part generally miss them. They are one of my favorite birds too.
LikeLike
I think they must promise to visit you again in the spring as nice as your hospitality for them is.
LikeLike
We’ve had two sets make nests in an overhang at work – the babies grow so FAST! I took pictures today but they are terrible 🙂 I was surprised they were still breeding so late in the season, the first nest flew away over a month ago.
LikeLike
beautifully said, I love the swallows too.. c
LikeLike
Because we’re in the tropics, we never see those magnificent gatherings of birds preparing for migration. I miss the skeins of geese traced across the sky in a huge V shape, or the congregation of starlings that would lift and swirl in a vast, dark, chattering cloud.
LikeLike
So fun! What happens to their nests when they leave? You would love the book, Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord. It’s a mddle grade chapterbook, so maybe the grandkids would like it, too.
LikeLike
I love reading all your observations of the natural world. Always makes me want to pay more attention! I do love swallows also. I only see them at the history farm we go to, when they flit in and out of the barn. I would also take the visitors in there to see them and they were always impressed with their nests!
LikeLike
Great post with awesome photos!
LikeLike
So sweet, Linda. I love these birds too as I also like to watch the departure of the geese from the East Coast to warmer climates comes late fall.
LikeLike
Noticed your gravatar image on Ed Prescott’s site and thought I’d look in. Your blog appears very nice – think I’ll check it out some more.
LikeLike