Like clock work the tree swallows are back in Howard County and our back fields. 
Yesterday I saw several tree swallows while fishing in southern Maryland, so I knew they were
in the greater vicinity, but it's always great to first see them at home! 

I took these photos this morning before we headed out for Sunday Easter mass at St. Louis.

The Burchick family has always had tree swallows nesting on our property and they
always arrive in late March before the purple martins.  They directly compete with the bluebirds for the several
bluebirds nesting boxes that we have throughout our property.  The only birds we allow to nest in them are bluebird
or tree swallow.  We actively trap for English house sparrow (over 100 taken annually) and therefore bluebirds and
swallows have a high fidelity/fecundity to our nesting boxes.
 

Tree swallows have a metallic or iridescent blue back, white chest and forked tail, feeding on the wing for insects.  I love it when they follow along with the tractor and feed on the insects kicked up and out by the mower.  I've had several buzz around the John Deere opportunistically feeding as I cut grass during April, May, June and July.   Tree swallows are the only species of swallow that will eat plant matter and therefore don't need to migrate as far south for a full-time insect diet.  They winter along the southeast coast, Florida, Mexico and Central America.  When it comes breeding time however, they fly north with Maryland representing the southernmost extent of their breeding range.  They like the 'blue' states of New England and then into Canada.  I'm confident that mine are southern Republicans that can't swallow the thought of crossing the Mason-Dixon.   The tree swallows feed low with the kingbirds, where as the martins feed higher, and then the bats take over in the evening.  One of the coolest things I've watched swallows do is play catch with feathers, where they will drop a feather in the air, pick it up on the wing and just play and hone their accipiter skills.

Seven to ten days until our purple martins arrive!  If you go to http://purplemartin.org/scoutreport/ you can see that martins have been on the Delmarva since this weekend.

Mark Burchick