Tree Swallow

A few pairs of Tree Swallows have set up shop in my local patch. They have begun to mate over the past few days. Outside of their normal breeding season, Tree Swallows gather together in night roosts of sometimes well over one hundred thousand birds! It is quite the spectacle when you see it for the first time. These birds can eat plant food, as well as insects, allowing them to adapt to periods of harsh weather (unlike most of species of swallow). Because of this, they are capable of arriving back on the breeding grounds far earlier than other swallows.

Back Bay Fens
Boston, Massachusetts

May 22, 2011