The warmer days of late April and early May signal the return of the little birds that play a big role in our property’s insect control. The first sign of the return of swallows to Ohio gives us hope that spring is right around the corner. Our first pair of barn swallows, a migratory bird that belongs to the group of songbirds, arrived on Saturday, April 14th, this year, returning from their southern migration during the winter to avoid the cold temperatures and lack of food. Their happy tweeting brightens even a gray spring day, marking the change of season and offering their natural insect control services. These slender little birds, about 5 or 6 inches in length, with pointed wings and tails, eat between 800 and 1,000 insects per bird per day. Multiply that by two for a nesting pair, and over a period of weeks we have excellent insect control without having to buy anything or use chemicals.
Our barn swallows build mud nests on top of the lights and beams in our indoor riding arena and stable, which is ideal for us since their droppings fall either in the arena sand or the stall shavings. But, if swallow droppings become a problem in your barn, place a board under the nest to keep the area under it clean.
We have found that they choose our habitat, near the water for their nest making mud and the abundance of insects to feast upon. Barn swallows fly in a zigzag manner, often flying close to the surface of the ground and water to feed during flight. They eat different types of large insects, (flies are their favorite food to which our horses say “thank you”), beetles, wasps, butterflies, moths and bees. A thirsty swallow flies close to the surface of the water and scoops water using its beak during the flight. Did you know that in the 19th century, barn swallows were hunted because their beautiful feathers were used in the manufacture of hats?
Experts say the main predators of barn swallows are cats and hawks, however, we found that a masked bandit can virtually wipe out a whole flock in one night. We were greeted by barn swallow carnage during our early morning visit to our indoor arena on July 4th, a couple years ago. Since nests were full, four or five babies in each of the 20-30 nests, the masked bandit had himself a field day, biting the heads off and dropping both parents and babies to the ground, throughout the previous night. He was quite focused on getting to the last occupied nest, in a particularly precarious spot at the peak, and never even noticed our presence. The last remaining pair of adult barn swallows were producing alarming calls instead of their usual cheerful warble, while swooping and darting at the aggressive invader. Needless to say, the murderer was tried and found guilty of his heinous crime and sentenced to immediate death. We had successfully protected the last of our “songbird” family and so enjoyed this small band the rest of that summer while they provided us with entertainment through their graceful flight acrobatics.
This year’s flock is currently busy building their nests and filling them with eggs, while we look forward to watching them dart about catching insects and providing us a season’s worth of free, nontoxic pest control.
Just a side note: If you would like to experience the barn swallow, up close and personal, make a trip to Boughton Farm Market. They seem to have a resident pair that insists on building their nest on the light above the market entrance. They are not afraid to swoop, chirp, feed their youngsters and teach that fat little round clutch to greet the visitors of the market.