|
Swallows are one well-known migrating birds, that usually make nests around our house or barn. They leave
in the fall to the warm south and come back in the spring regularly. They are considered beneficial birds to people because
they eat warms or insects which can be harmful to crops or humans. They are a good parameter to measure degree of pollution
of land. If soil is polluted, warms or insects disappear leading to decrease of swallow population.
Swallows can
be observed in not only United States but also in Europe or Far East Asia. Swallows in USA migrated to Central America for
winter stay, one in Europe to South Africa, and one in Far East Asia to Philippine Islands. They take a long journey for migration.
The following is a story about swallows that I have observed in person.
A story about swallows
Because my house locates next to man-made lake on one side and a vast area of forest preserve on the other side, I can enjoy
all kinds of nature. Animals like deer, rabbit, racoon, ground hog, squirrel, and chipmunk frequent my yard. Sometimes they
are a nuisance because they mss up with my flower garden which I am very much fond of. With the benefit of a large lake, I
can enjoy unusual birds that ordinarily we do not see around the house. They are ducks, geese, swallows, egret, blue heron,
and storks.
Early last spring, I noticed that a pair of swallows was building a nest on the wall next to my garage
door. They brought mouthful clay and straw and laid little by little to build a half cone shaped nest which was wonderfully
attached to the wall. I told my wife that we are going to see baby swallows pretty soon. Eventually, the female swallow finished
laying eggs and sat quietly on them. After a few weeks passed, we heard chicks. We could see four chicks stretching their
necks waiting for the mother swallow to bring food to the chicks. Since then, the mother swallow kept herself busy to bring
food to the chicks. Meanwhile, the father swallow was making circles around their nest as if guarding them. When a mother
swallow was not feeding chicks, both sat on the edge of gutter and chat to each other.
We had to get out of our
house quietly and quickly no to disturb them. If we had stayed a little longer than a brief moment outside, swallows were
getting nervous and started swiftly flying and dashing to us as if they were trying to attack us. I thought that they were
trying to protect their chicks. If we stay longer, we had to confront a troop of swallows. Suddenly, at least five or six
more swallows join the pair and circle around us, making some noise. It amazed me how the pairs send a signal to recruit assistance
and where they are coming from. I haven't seen them before. Since then this grouping and attacking gestures repeated whenever
it was not sooner to clear from their view. Even though we had a great deal of desire to see how the baby chicks grow, we
had to restrain ourselves. Only way to look at baby swallows was from inside through the window. We still managed to enjoy
observing baby chicks getting bigger and the moment they could fly. We worried if they might fall to the ground but to our
relief, they managed to fly all by themselves. When they flew away, I was wondering if they left forever. They came back in
the evening and stayed in the nest overnight. They repeated this for a few days but finally they have gone and then never
returned. All the time both parent stayed and carefully watched if everyone left safely.
Finally both parent left
for the warmer place somewhere south. After all left the nest remained empty. And then the winter came. The swallows have
not come back even after spring has sprung. I thought they would never return. One day we noticed some other kind of bird
has occupied the nest and laid eggs. It was a purple finch. I thought that the finch was shameless creature and steal someone
else nest. Since an original legitimate owner is not around, it wouldn't matter whoever lives there. It would be better than
left vacant. To my surprise, one day, the swallows have returned. I believe that the swallows must have shocked to find that
someone else is occupying their nest. There were a brief quarrel and melee between them. I have observed that the swallow
gave up and quietly left. I am sure of that they are much larger and stronger so that they could evict easily the illegitimate
occupant if they wanted. They must have thought it is unethical or unkind to kick out someone who is having baby.
This
event left me a profound thought. We can learn some lesson that the swallows showed us about cooperation between their colleagues
and yielding to someone needy. Nowadays it is a rare occurrence in our society to cooperate and yield. It would be nice to
follow the exemplary gesture that the swallows have shown us.
Jae Ro
|
A pair of Swallows sitting on the rail
|
