These are all Tree Swallows, a small section of the cloud of 7,000 plus we saw yesterday.
If you are wondering where the Tree Swallows are right now, 7,000 plus are on Sanibel Island, FL. We saw them yesterday, from Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, looking like a swirling giant dark cloud from a distance over refuge lands. They eat aerial insects, then descend on Wax Myrtle (like Bayberry up north) bushes and devour the high fat berries, which will give them fuel for their northward journey in spring. We have at least 15 nesting pairs of Tree Swallows in our boxes at our NH property. We wonder when we look up, whether "our" Tree Swallows are in that giant cloud of birds. It's a good thing they are here now.
Thinking of all of you about to get hit with Blizzard "Nemo." Keep your bird feeders filled and stay safe.
3 comments:
Once I saw almost 2000 Tree Swallows at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. Everywhere you looked they were flying around in search of food.
I had a pine siskin that hit my sliding glass door which instantly killed that dear little bird.
I looked it up to make sure it was a pine siskin and it was. I don't usually see this bird. The yellow underneath the wings was a creamy yellow. It is a beautiful bird, not a "drab" bird as I saw it described somewhere.
Lovely photos;am enjoying your blog. We have over 50 pine siskins in Belfast, ME as we'll as evening grosbeaks. Marje
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