When the swallows come back to Capistrano, that’s the day you promised to come back to me. When you whispered “Farewell,” in Capistrano, ‘Twas the day the swallow flew out to sea.
— Written by Leon J. Rene-recorded by The Ink Spots (1940)
Sometime in April and May the barn swallows begin to arrive from Central and South America to our barns, sheds and porches to nest and breed. The distance travelled is estimated at around 6,000 miles. Barn swallows typically chose an open area with plenty of places for foraging for food, including flying insects. The bird can consume around 500 insects a day during the nesting time. For some the barn swallow is somewhat of a nuisance, though they are quite good at doing away with maybe the greater nuisance of annoying insects. They will also need nest materials such as mud of a workable consistency, sand, silt, grass and some fresh water. The bird has an attraction to structures for attaching their nests, usually barns (thus the name), sheds, under bridges and unfortunately for some, the front porch. Once the swallow finds a suitable nesting area, they are likely to return year after year. Even the hatchling will attempt to return to the place they were born. They will also build their home in old nests or near the one they were born in.
The barn swallow is a pretty bird with a long blue back, a dark orange face, and a lighter colored underside. The wings are long and slender and the tail ends in two points like a fork. They are quite the aerial acrobats. Though it may be tempting to try to remove the birds and their nests, note they are quite protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act 1918. While the nest is active with the brood the nest cannot legally be removed. When the nest is not filled with eggs or fledglings the nest can be removed though it may not deter future birds. Some homeowners have been successful by painting the ceiling a sky blue to trick the bird into thinking the ceiling is the sky. There are also plastic owls and rubber snakes. One homeowner reported swallows in his barn nesting on top of the plastic owl’s head. We tried some rubber snakes once and let me just say carrying rubber snakes to the store’s check-out counter is still a bit unnerving.
There is a 1930’s legend regarding the swallow from the mission at San Juan Capistrano, California. Seems Father John O’ Sullivan noticed a shopkeeper destroying swallow nests over his shop’s eaves. The birds were frantic. The Father asked what he was doing and where did he think the birds should go? The shopkeeper said he didn’t care anything for these dirty birds. The Father then addressed the birds and welcomed them to the mission saying “Come…there’s room for all.” The next day the swallows were at the church building their nests.
If you are a bird lover, know that the mission of San Juan Capistrano celebrates the return of the swallows to this day. The swallows of San Juan Capistrano made the mission and the city world famous. The city is now by law a bird sanctuary.
Shannon Rule Bardwell is a writer, who lives in the Prairie. Her e-mail is [email protected].
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