Every spring in mid-April, I’m watching for the first barn swallows to return after leaving by the first week of September. As I’ve watched, read about and enjoyed these birds over the years, they probably amaze me more than any other bird-and most animals!
A barn swallow weighs less than one ounce! It will consume over 800 mosquitoes or other biting insects daily. Most barn swallows will return to the structure they were born in… I found this to be absolutely true…one year I noticed one of the young in a clutch of babies had “spots” all over it-almost like it had been sprinkled with bleach. As it grew it was clear to see it was a male with the darker coloring, and I nicknamed him “Whitey” because of his white spots. Whitey returned for six more seasons, so I know that one always returned to the same structure! Now, one of the most incredible things about these birds, when they leave Northern Indiana in the fall do you know where they go? Argentina! And, they don’t go over large bodies of water, meaning they travel all the way over to Mexico, down through Central America, Northern South America to get to Argentina for the winter (it’s summer there). That would be close to an 8,000-mile trip, and then do the return trip in the spring…all the way back to our little barn in Goshen Indiana…How do they do it? God! “Look at the birds! They don’t worry about what to eat-they don’t need to sow or reap or store up food-for your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are”. Matthew 6:26 (TLB)
Soon our barn will be alive with the “chatter” of 20 or more pairs of barn swallows going through the mating rituals and deciding if they want to fix-up an old nest or build a new one, they do both and in my observations the female decides.
Throughout the summer these birds provide not only natural pest control but many hours of entertainment for us! They are flying more than they are perching during the day-because they catch the insects in flight. They even drink-in-flight…they will “skim” the pond at full speed…what skill! The constant diving and swooping with accuracy that a fighter pilot could only dream about is almost mesmerizing. When I’m mowing the field, they are my constant companions-dozens of them coming towards me from all directions…because I’m stirring up insects-FREE FOOD!
Well, these birds are just a drop in the amazing sea of creation that God made. Praise God!
Till Next Time…..
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