Meet Me At Lenape Park

The barn swallow had been waiting a long time at the designated meeting spot on the Lenape Park Wildlife Garden sign. Her mate finally made his appearance and they sat at opposite ends gazing quietly at one another. He turned away and began to preen himself then looked over to see her reaction, but she gave him the cold shoulder and preened her feathers. He flew away a bit peeved and she realized her error. "Where are you?" she chirped softly, looking around for him. Then she flew into the brush.

She returned to wait for him. He took his sweet time, but within bird reason he came back, perching next to her. They repeated this pattern a number of times before he decided that they should go for the big moment. It was nice to see them doing what birds and bees do and satisfied, I packed up my gear to go home.

A gentleman with his dog saw my equipment and struck up a conversation about the migratory birds in the area. He mentioned Cornell as a good source for identification and as we talked, a yellow warbler flew past. He said that the American Catbird has flown in and showed me a picture of it. He also shared information about the hummingbird near the willow. I'll be back to see if I can spot any of these birds but I'd really love to see the hummingbird!

If you'd like to see more of the barn swallow love pictures, they're in my blipfolio here!