Barn Swallows

The first week of May, the daredevils of the sky return to Northwest Missouri, their antics enough to keep this wild woman content.

They swoop into the barn mow, dodge their avian fellows, and somehow avoid colliding. They build mud nests under the eaves, in the barn, garage, and patio. A bit of a mess, but what the heck. They pay me back with their intricate song, swirling flight around the dreaded cat, and catch mosquitoes. The last alone puts me on their side.


The sky is their playground. Their flight carves figure eights around a slow-moving tractor, snatching bugs the tires scare up.

One pair, maybe the same pair, always returns to nest under the porch. At first, the birds holler as we walk by but soon the swallows learn we are not a threat and sound the ‘all clear’ tweet instead.

It is spring. It is their time.