Who's Swallowing Signs of Spring? One sure sign of spring is the appearance if insects, and it's no coincidence that swallows appear soon after. A few Barn Swallows show up in Florida and Texas in January and February. When are your swallows coming? The first individual swallows to return are sometimes called "scouts." With Purple Martins, which are colonial swallows, the scouts may actually be checking out nesting areas in advance of the rest of their colony. But with more territorial species like Barn Swallows, the scouts are probably just eager to return and take over a territory. In 2003, two observers from Ontario, Canada reported on "scouts" in February:"On one occasion the weather was so bad that we let the Barn Swallow scout overnight in our garage. He was quite appreciative. While it may seem unusual, these swallows are quite good communicators. If a cat is in the barnyard, they come and fly past our sun room window in great swoops seeking support. A pair usually nests over our back door, and are great friends. So I hope the scout this year will check in on arrival , as usual!" Barn Swallows are wonderful to watch, whether perched on their nests of flying about. Their long tail helps them maneuver. They weigh less than an ounce, and can fly anywhere from 17 mph to 46 mph. Their graceful, speedy flight is lovely to see as they dart every which way, snatching insects in mid-air. During migration, some Barn Swallows travel from Argentina to Yukon and Alaska—about 7,000 miles! Why isn't this much more work than their normal daily flights? Read on: Swallows eat mainly flying insects, including mosquitoes and other harmful species, so people benefit from swallows being around. To catch enough flying insects for survival and good health, swallows spend most of their waking hours on the wing, darting here and there to sweep up small and large insects in their big, wide mouths. When they aren't swooping about, they rest on branches or power lines. A scientist who studied Barn Swallows once calculated that Barn Swallows fly about 600 miles per day just swooping back and forth capturing insects. During migration, swallows are simply flying more in a straight line than back and forth; unless they're flying over a large body of water where they can't rest, swallows don't do much more work in migrating than they do in their normal day-to-day living. Because they eat as they go, and because they fly all day anyway, swallows tend to migrate by day (most small songbirds migrate at nighttime). Once in a while a swallow gets lost at sea, but swallows usually follow a land course as they migrate. Try This! Journaling Question Like most early migrants, swallows follow bodies of water. What's the connection? Think about swallows eating on the wing. What adaptations would be important for the way swallows eat? If a Barn Swallow lived for 8 years and flew 600 miles every day during that time, how far would it have flown during its lifetime? Copyright 2004 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form