Swallows Under Our Bridges

By Dan Weisz

All images by Dan Weisz

A nearby bridge is the home to a number of nests of Cliff Swallows. They winter in South America but summer throughout most of the United States and are returning to Southeast Arizona right now. They build gourd-shaped nests out of mud on the undersides of bridges and overhangs. Last year, the Cliff Swallows at this bridge were busy catching insects for young in the nests. When they caught a number of insects, they would return to the nests to feed the young inside. The color patterns on Cliff Swallows are interesting.



Birdnote tells us how Cliff Swallows build their substantial nests. How many little pieces of mud were used to construct this nest? At this point, with young in the nest, the adults will enter the nest with food, spend about a minute in the nest, and then emerge to begin hunting once again. Both parents assist in hunting for food.

This is what it sounded like under the bridge as a group of Cliff Swallows approached the nests. Sometimes the swallows would just fly nearby and then leave the area. Sometimes they would enter nests with food and then leave a minute later. The air was quiet while they were out hunting but would fill with these sounds as the tiny swarm of birds approached the bridge. This Cliff Swallow burst out of its nest. Cliff Swallows seem to have just one speed: fast!



I’ve recently been able to capture a few photos of Cliff Swallows in the air. It’s not the easiest of tasks as they are very fast fliers and they fly very erratically.



This Cliff Swallow seems to be carrying a bill-full of mud. Perhaps it is doing some kind of home repairs now.



Cliff Swallows often hunt in small groups. Perhaps they sense that if there is one insect in the air, there just may be a swarm of insects there. The photo below was taken on a different morning from the other Cliff Swallow pictures. The sky was much cloudier that morning. Looks like there is one insect that may have had a close call as the swallows fly by.



The earlier photos showed the underside of the Cliff Swallow. This shows its ‘dorsal’ side, its back and rusty red rump patch.



Cliff Swallows come to North America every summer to breed. The range map below tells you where they winter (in blue) and where (in orange) they live during our spring breeding season. Can you imagine how many hundreds or thousands of miles those little birds travel each year?



Yet another Cliff Swallow flew homeward towards its nest with its prize. Both the males and the females provide food for young in the nest. 

It’s almost as if this Cliff Swallow turned to acknowledge me as it zoomed by. I assured it that my intentions were innocent.

Dan Weisz is a native Tucsonan and retired educator who enjoys birding, being in nature, and taking photographs.