Why we love water and birds
Last week, one warm sunny afternoon — the kind of spring day that makes one believe, even hope, that global warming is not only true but winter has been outlawed — mayflies hovered in clouds over the Missouri River in north central Montana.
The insects didn’t exactly blacken the sky, but it was heartening to see another sign of the changing seasons.
By the next day, cliff swallows had returned to the river and were flying around with their mouths open, gobbling up the available insect protein. Swallows are amazing birds, and central Montana is lucky to host several members of that family — cliff, barn, tree, bank, northern rough-winged and violet-green.
Granted that’s a lot to memorize for someone who is not a dedicated birder, but there is plenty to appreciate with swallows in general. All of them eat a tremendous amount of insects. They fly around with their small but gaping mouths open, scooping up hundreds of bugs.
And what flight. Darting, pirouetting, diving, swallows have few peers in nature. Think of air shows featuring the Navy’s Blue Angels or the Air Force’s Thunderbirds. While we cheer the human endeavor and the pilots’ derring-do, their aerobatics pale in comparison to swallows.
That swallows are relatively tame and that some species will nest near or on our houses and garages just adds to their appeal.
Because swallows depend on insects for food, their spring arrival is especially weather dependent. When the weather warms and bring out insects, swallows will not be far behind. That means their arrival can vary as much as two weeks from spring to spring.
Good places to watch and appreciate cliff swallows are near bridges, where they will often build their nests. This brings up another point of awestruck admiration – the birds’ nest building capabilities.
Cliff swallow nests are huts of mud usually stuck on the side of cliffs or bridges. The admirable part is how they build a nest when they have no hands or fingers. They land, scoop up mud with their mouth and fly away. Deposit the mud at the nest site. Repeat. Try building your next house using just your mouth.
Sometimes, however, when swallows try to build their marvels of mud on the side of someone’s home or inside a garage, there is less admiration than cursing. That’s when guys who normally love birds, or at least pay them no mind, turn into grumpy old men impolitely demanding, “How do I get those blankety-blank things off my house.”
The short answer is — with great difficulty. Migratory songbirds, like swallows, are protected. They cannot be hunted or harassed. So think of the good they do, like eating insects by the thousands every day.
And they are pretty cool to watch twist and turn through the air. In fact, if there is ever an Olympic event in feathered aerobatics, put your money on the swallows.
Bruce Auchly is the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 4 information officer.