As a youngster, if I saw a swallow, it was almost always a barn swallow. On Main Road I lived midway between two properties with barns. The barn swallows always had nests there. They coursed above the fenced-in meadows behind my home. I was most familiar with them. But, in July, Dad would take a vacation day or two to take me “lake fishing.” There I saw my first tree swallows snatching up insects above the water.

Now with my bluebird boxes, I host many nesting pairs. Once, only nesting in tree cavities around marshes or lakes, the tree swallows found the thousands of bluebird boxes folks have built. Many are unused by their intended “renters” and tree swallows find them even in the suburbs. Probably two-thirds of my nest boxes were occupied by swallows while the bluebirds gladly accepted the rest.

I could expect tree swallows to arrive about March 28-31, “battle” other males for the choice boxes, nest, and usually by July 10, they were gone. Apparently, in post-breeding dispersal, they head to lakes and rivers to feast on summer flying insects.

Their cousins, the barn swallows, head for South America by Aug. 20, while the tree swallows seem to migrate about three or four weeks later. This year, Sept. 5-8 offered us flocks of nearly a hundred tree swallows swirling around my backyard and orchard. While at Bake Oven Knob on Sept. 16, dozens of these swallows passed the lookout. Where are they going?

Tree swallows are a bit hardier than most of the other swallows and may only migrate to the mid-Atlantic Coast, where they supplement their diet with bayberries when cold winter days slow any insect activity. They can overwinter from the Delaware coast to the coastal Carolinas.

The first weekend of October 2019, we traveled to Cape May to try to catch a nice migration of falcons and accipiters. This coastal migration hotspot’s winds were not very favorable, but still we glimpsed a few peregrines, merlins, kestrels and quite a few sharp-shinned hawks. The real show though was provided by tree swallows.

Over the course of that weekend we watched thousands of swallows feeding across some of the ponds, alighting on the beach fences, and even on the beach itself. These huge flocks circled back and forth for a few miles along the beach front. They turned almost in unison, and watching thousands swarming was quite a show. I have camped at Assateague Island, probably 50 miles farther south, and have seen hundreds feeding in and around the marsh. But why are there so many at Cape May Point?

First, this area offers great feeding for them. But mostly, the swallows mill around this area before they fly across the lower Delaware Bay, almost as it they were waiting for someone to direct them farther south. My description of this mass of birds can never match you seeing them in person. So, if you venture out of the Times News region to New Jersey, pick a day in early October, you won’t regret it.

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: Great blue herons eat: A. fish, B. snakes, C. frogs, D. mice, E. all of these, F. none of these

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: Borrowing colors from nature, we have generally used yellow signs (traffic signals, too) to caution us, red (stop signs) to warn us, just as insects use warning colorations (bees, yellow jackets) and even skunks.

Contact Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com.