by Julie Lundsted
photographed by Jim Rathert

Tree swallows will make you "gulp" as they dip, dive and loop through the air.

"When you're the photographer, you're usually the one doing the watching," explains Photographer Jim Rathert.  "But these tree swallows seemed to be watching me. They peered out of their nest box as if they wanted to see what I was doing."

"Why are we throwing feathers into the air?" my friend, Kathy, asked as I reached into my old feather pillow and tossed another handful. "Shhh . . . Just wait, and you'll see," I told her. Just then we heard the soft "gleek, gleek" of a tree swallow as a male flew near us for a closer look.

"Oh, wow!" said Kathy, as the glistening green swallow grabbed a pure white feather out of the air with its beak and flew quickly away with it. Soon we were joined by five more tree swallows, all darting in and around us, grabbing the floating feathers. Even the feathers that had hit the ground were quickly snatched up by the birds.

"They're beautiful!" Kathy exclaimed. She wanted to know more. Why are they doing that? What do they use them for? Where are they taking them? I know just how she felt. After seeing my first tree swallow, I wanted to know more about them, too.

After I learned they nest in bird houses, I received permission from the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Department to put up 25 nest boxes around Binder Lake near my home. I check the boxes once a week to make sure the birds are OK and, without disturbing the contents, I count the number of eggs or young as their nesting season progresses. Each visit to a nest box brings a smile to my face, and I've learned so much.

One of my most fascinating discoveries was that tree swallows line their nests with feathers-especially white ones. I've read that there can be as many as 100 feathers lining a single nest. These feathers apparently are an insulator and keep the eggs and nestlings warm while the parents are away catching insects. But why they use so many feathers in a single nest is a mystery.

Another discovery was that tree swallows seem to watch out for each other. One morning about 250 tree swallows were flying all around me as I peeked in a nest box to count the last nestlings of the season. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has granted me permission to place identification bands on the legs of the nestlings. And when I do this, all the parents in the area, not just parents of the nestlings, will fly about swooping and circling. Even though I know they won't hit me, I feel like I need a hard hat.

Tree swallows mainly eat winged insects. They adapt easily to nest boxes and are some of the most brightly colored members of the swallow family.

"Where do they like to live, and will they come live in my yard?" Kathy asked. I told her their usual habitat is open, grassy areas near water. Tree swallows eat mostly flying insects, so you usually see them darting here and there, flying over lakes, ponds and fields where insects are abundant.

Tree swallows are the only member of the swallow family to spend the winter in the United States, in warm locations such as Florida and Texas. Since they spend the summer with us, we have the privilege of watching them raise their young. Tree swallows are cavity nesters, which means they build nests and lay eggs in an enclosed nesting area, like a nest box.

Because they don't have a big, sharp bill to excavate their own cavity, they rely on pre-made nesting cavities or abandoned woodpecker holes. Being somewhat communal, they often build their nests close to each other-sometimes even in the same tree. A pair occasionally will nest alone in an isolated location, such as a bluebird box.

A male tree swallow will claim a cavity by placing a single feather in it. One of my most exciting discoveries is a nest box with a single feather lying in the bottom because then I know another tree swallow nest is about to be built. The female soon will start to construct a nest of dried grasses.

I often wonder how they can shape the nest into such a tight cup and make it all hold together by using only their beak. When the nest is complete, the tree swallows begin to gather lots and lots of feathers. They stick the bottom, or quill, of the feathers into the nest so that the feathers curl up and over the eggs as they are laid.

The female will lay a single white egg each morning until she's laid a clutch of four to seven. The male watches and seems to encourage her building efforts, as he perches on or near the nest box. His vigilance continues while she incubates the eggs. I often hear them "talking" quietly to each other while she's on the nest inside the box.

Upon returning from feeding flights, the male will call out to the female who is inside the nest box incubating the eggs. In response, she exits and flies off to snatch a few insects herself. The two of them look just like a tag team "flying" a relay!

The female will incubate the eggs for 14 to 15 days. After the eggs hatch, both parents feed the nestlings. The nestlings leave the nest after 16 to 30 days. At about 14 days of age, young tree swallows are getting hungrier, bigger and more restless every day, and they begin to take turns sticking their heads out the entrance hole.

When they see their "mom or dad" returning with a big fat bug in their mouth, it's fun to listen to the nestlings call out and see them excitedly open their mouths wide. Sometimes the largest nestling will crowd the hole and not let his brothers or sisters get their share of bugs.

After watching this behavior and wondering just how all of those babies in the nest could be fed, I found plans for a nest box with four holes on the front so more than one nestling can beg for food at the same time. These boxes are readily accepted by the swallows, and it's fun to see all the little faces peering out of the nest box holes at once.

"I'm convinced," Kathy told me. "I have a feather pillow in the attic that I don't use, and there's a lake not too far from my house. I'm going to have my dad help me make a few nest boxes. Next spring you can come see my tree swallows!"

Knowing Kathy, I'm certain she will come to enjoy the swallows as much as I do. I'm always sad at the end of summer when all of my tree swallow friends have gone south. To help make winter pass quickly, I help build more nest boxes, find new spots to put them and repair my older ones. Most of all, I save white feathers and dream of tree swallows swooping and darting around me, catching the feathers I've tossed into the air.

Julie Lunstead volunteers at the Runge Conservation Nature Center in Jefferson City, where she gives birding programs.