Monday, July 13, 2009

Gray day swallows



Flighty flibbertigibbets.

9 comments:

pablo said...

I remember reading that swallows never land but spend all of their lives in the air. I doubted it at the time, and I doubt it still.

Ericka said...

i love that word. flibbertigibbets. we don't use it nearly enough. flibbertigibbets flibbertigibbets flibbertigibbets!

robin andrea said...

I have a photo of swallows on a wire that looks very much like this one. I took it last week on a hike in our favorite park. I think they were Violet-Green swallows, but I'm not sure.

R.Powers said...

I agree with Pablo, that "never landing" myth is a little hard to swallow.

Pamela said...

already flying south -- some of them

amarkonmywall said...

I like this sort of flat, duotone photo- especially in contrast to the previous daylily post. (those were something!). Swallows are right up there with owls and ravens and crows as favorite birds for me- but in fact, they are just about the prettiest of the lot up close.

Chickens. I came within a hair of buying a couple of chicks the other day. With absolutely no place to put them and the neighbors sure to complain. But there is some watermelon in the frig- good thing I didn't know that this was a dietary favorite. Might have tipped me over the edge.

Rurality said...

Pablo, I think somebody was pulling your leg. They land a lot, especially on wires and such, but they do spend more time flying than your average bird. Some pelagic species rarely land, but they do have to nest now and again, or else no baby birds...

Ericka, I agree. :)

RA, oh I'd love to see some of those. These are barn swallows.

FC, and here I was thinking that you'd started it... ;)

Thanks, Gail!

Pamela, yeah, they leave very early compared to other migrants. They return early too, though.

Oh Vicki, you would have such fun with chickens. :)

http://www.wildramblings.com said...

In these parts we see the swallows gathering on the telephone wires in August just before they migrate. Do they hang around all year round in Alabama, or do they travel for the winter?

Sorry for what might seem like a silly question, I am a New England boy, but love to know what various animals do in other parts of the country.

I really like you blog, very nice.

Rurality said...

They migrate out of here in winter, and come back very early the next spring.