Violet-green Swallow

Each spring swallows return to the bluff as insects wake up. Aerobatic marvels, they patrol the lawn just above head height, air-vacuuming insects. Until the other day I thought of swallows always as a shape in the sky hurtling east to west and back again in feeding flight maneuvers – often in the evening.

This year we might get more familiar. The other day I watched two swallows diverted from the usual formation make repeated investigating runs toward the eaves of the Buffalo. I read they make nests out of pellet-sized dabs of mud, so it could take a long time to make a nest there. Or maybe it didn’t suit. The bluff itself must be hospitable – with snack bar lawn above.