Tree Swallow

Last week of December, a large flock of these tree swallows numbering in the 10's of thousands filled the skies of our neighboorhood and by 5'oclock in the evening they settled in all of the trees overnight for about 2 square blocks. It was kind of eerie. We had never seen anything like this in the 17 years weve lived here in NC . We had seen one or two swallows before, and large flocks of other kinds of birds, but never a massive flock like this of swallows. I guess they winter here in NC, but what added to the strangeness of the situation, was that it was the last week of December and it was 72 degrees outside as well, and the birds seemed unsettled and bothered and quite noisey. I wonder if these large flocks are normal, or if it has something to do with the weather?

A gorgeous bird. We have a retention pond in our back yard that we share with out neighbor. She has several bird houses that are on poles along the pond. Today we noticed a Tree Swallow sitting on top of one all day. I saw it in the morning and told her about it in the evening and he was still there. He is beautiful. The color is striking, especially with the white underside and neck. We think there are eggs in the bird house and he is protecting them? He does appear to be guarding it.
They eat insects, catching them in mid-air as they fly.
They also like berries.
We have woods all around the back of this pond, and they like those, also. It is marshy in the pond; as you can see from my pictures.
We had tons of these in the beginning of spring, fly... read moreing from one farm to another yard and such. It looked real freaky. My kids were saying it was eerie. There were so many. It was like a Hitchcock film.
They said when they nest, they separate from the flock for that. It is nesting in a regular bluebird box.
The flocks appeared in May and I haven't noticed them for a week or two. Then this one appeared in the bird box.

I just love watching and listening to these lovely birds. They let you get close if they are used to you, but they get protective when the little ones start making noise and are getting ready to leave the nest.