Mood:
chillin'Cliff Swallows are not a common site in the Eastern United Sates. They are more prevalent in the West were there are large rock over hangs for them to nest. With the loss of habitat and man made structures popping up all over the East, The little swallows have found a new home.
I was out on the tower one day doing a gate change when I noticed small birds swarming near the tower. Upon closer inspection I noticed they were Cliff Swallow and that they had chosen the south facing bridge wall to build their nests.
The swallows build their nest out of little balls of mud that they carry one by one. They form a cone shape with a small hole pointed downward. They build in large colonies as you see in the picture obove. Some colonies have been know to hold over 100 nests.
The female lays 3 to 5 eggs per nest and some times will lay eggs in other nests. She then sits on the eggs while the male goes in search of food. Their primary diet is insects which are caught in flight. The male returns to the nest with lightening speed and leaves just as quickly to catch more food. There primary feeding time at the dam seems to be around 11AM. It was such a flurry of activity it was hard to watch them through the camera lense. They were quite comical to watch. At one point I watched a male return to the nest. He didn't offer the female any food but instead pushed his way into the nest. The female quickly followed after him. A few seconds later she tosses him out of the nest and proceed to chirp fiercely. Almost like she was saying, "Get you lazy ass out their and get me some food!!! You good for nothing ball of feathers!!!! My mother told me I shouldn't have fallen for you bright rusty colored head."
Nature never ceases to amaze me. It always seems to adapt to any situation. There is a lesson to be learned there.
