Swallows

While fishing the other day, I observed quite a few swallows perching on a dead tree over the river. They were northern rough wing swallows. They seemed not to notice me as I was up to my waist in the river. They looked sleepy and appeared to be resting. When they did fly, several of them seemed awkward and slow, an indication that they were juveniles. The next day I saw a flock of several dozen tree swallows on the road, looking as if they were either eating bugs off the road or picking up pieces of gravel. Again, some of them flew and moved awkwardly as juveniles do.

This is the season for juvenile birds. My back yard is full of baby robins following their mother around. I see large flocks of starlings and horned larks doing the same thing. I saw a wooly worm crawling along the road. It is hard to believe that I will be cutting bittersweet in just a few weeks.