And Watch the Swallows as They Fly

I was calling these little birds gnatcatchers, and while that might be an apt description of them, I am also pretty that gnatcatcher is what they are not. Instead I am about as positive as I can be calling them cliff swallows. They are some of the busiest little creatures you'll ever see in the evening.

They are especially active at the lower end of the channel Out There, right where it disappears underground. Indeed I would not be surprised if that is where they live, building their nests high up where walls meet ceiling of that cave-like construction. They rise up and dive back down to just above the rushing water. They wheel and swoop around in pursuit of some insects that only they are capable of seeing, let alone following. How they manage to avoid colliding with one another may be just as amazing. They have been here for a while now, in fact I noted their early morning activities a couple weeks go - "I watched small birds by the dozens flapping frantically to and fro, working hard for their breakfast. I couldn't see the insects they were pursuing, but they must have been plentiful," though at a slightly different location (above the dam) , and probably members of a different colony.

Fortunately they will be around here for some time, through the summer, before they begin their long journey back to south America, impossible as it sounds for something so small.

"Come wander quietly and listen to the wind

Come here and listen to the sky

Come walking high above the rolling of the sea

And watch the swallows as they fly..."

(Farina)