Look up over Nutley’s parks and open spaces this time of year, and you might catch a small bird making quick, graceful swoops through the sky.
You might even hear it before you see it. The Barn Swallow makes a “svit svit svit” call, and once you know what to look for, these summer visitors become much easier to spot.
Despite their name, they don’t need a barn to call home. They commonly build their mud nests beneath the eaves of buildings, under bridges, and on other human-made structures.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Barn Swallow is the most abundant and widely distributed swallow species in the world. It breeds across much of the Northern Hemisphere before migrating south for the winter, reaching Central and South America.
Here in Nutley, look for these slender birds around open areas at the Mud Hole, Yanticaw, Kingsland, Booth, and other parks. They have long, pointed wings, a forked tail, glossy blue plumage, cinnamon underside, and rusty coloring around the forehead and throat.
These birds are speedy, so look quickly for their darting and weaving as they forage. Barn Swallows frequently fly low over fields, parks, and ponds while chasing insects. They can turn and dive quickly, darting just above the ground or water. When not foraging, they can be seen happily perching on a convenient powerline overlooking the streets as they watch their human neighbors.
The Cornell Lab lists their nesting season as running from early May through August, so the Barn Swallows we see now have spent the summer raising their young. Many will have already begun their migration south in September. Not to worry, they will begin their return to Nutley in February and March.
They can be easy to miss in busy downtown Nutley, but once you know where to look, you may start spotting them. But the next time you see one perched over Franklin Avenue or swooping over a park, take a second look.
Photo credit: Howard Walsh on Unsplash