by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

If you drive past the West Valley Ponds at most any time of day from early spring to fall, you can see Swallows performing aerial acrobatics as they scoop up flying insects. We have several species of Swallows that find the West Valley a welcoming summer home with plenty of habitat for nests of various types and flying insects for food to sustain them and their growing offspring. Some of the swallows forage over open fields and meadows with low vegetation. In early spring, I often see all the species at the West Valley Ponds; early in the morning they line up on power lines until the lines sag. It’s a great place to learn what they all look like. Before long, they sort things out and move out to their preferred habitat for nesting.

Tree Swallows arrive early: I’ve seen them here as early as March 21. They don’t seem to start nesting for a few weeks, but they spend a lot of time checking out the housing options. Cavity nesters, they build a nest inside a nest box or woodpecker hole. Tree Swallows are the only species of swallow that can digest berries; that’s one advantage that allows them to survive if they come before insects have swarmed.

Tree Swallows always incorporate scavenged feathers in their nests; one theory regarding this behavior is that the feathers inform other birds that the nest is already occupied; another theory is that they use them as insulation. Maybe both? Nest boxes should be cleaned annually. We found feathers from a wide assortment of birds in the boxes that had been occupied by Tree Swallows.

Northern Rough-winged Swallows also spend summers here; they build their nests in banks much as do Bank Swallows. Maybe someday I’ll find them and make my collection complete. Any suggestions?