Feather and Swallow

For some reason which I decided not to delve into, the phone no longer seems an adequate means of communication to my father so he has decided we should have walkie talkies to chat between our homes. We are maybe 400 yards away, give or take 100 yards, we could yell if one of us had our hearing aids in (you decide for yourselves which one of us that is) but walkie talkies it shall be. I decided to be delighted, given that the purchase is inevitable, and I suggested since our chatter may be picked up by any number of truckers or highway construction people that we can lie our heads off and not stick solely to asking to borrow a cup of sugar. I thought I might say, “Hey, did you see that naked lady swimming in the inlet?” and dad could respond,” Why yes! She’s a stunner!” and watch as people crowded round the shoreline peering for all their worth. Or we might give detailed directions to the money we have buried near the shoreline under the 3rd Madrona tree, 18 feet to the left of the Larch--I’m seeing this as a great possibility for summer entertainment.
 
I saw the most extraordinary thing this morning, at least I thought it was astounding. I was sitting on the deck as the morning was warming watching a swallow just barely skimming over the surface of the water before rising in an arc into the air and down again. This tiny swallow dipped low and picked up something in his beak, rose into the air again and dropped it. The object slowly floated on the small breath of air coming off the bay and was caught once more by the swallow who then banked and took it skyward again. This dance was repeated and repeated, each time the swallow turned back to catch the object mid air as gracefully as fine silk might wave in a light breeze. After a dozen or so turns, he flew off, leaving the object to settle gently on the water’s surface. My binoculars revealed it was a white feather, maybe 5 inches in length, shaped like a U, both ends being raised up out of the water. I was enchanted and wanted so badly for someone to have seen this with me! But alas, not even Lew was with me on this trip. You can barely make out the feather in this hideous photo in roughly the center.
 
I settled back into my tea and book but soon found my eyes scanning the water for the river otters or herons and I saw the swallow return, again taking the feather up for another soar, dropping and catching it several more times before sailing off to find new toys. Has anyone ever seen this behavior before? It was wonderful and I think I may tear apart my pillows to send more feathers to sea!
 
I went inside and began hanging some pictures on my walls which is a bit like demolition really as I am loathe to measure so it’s always 3 incorrect holes made for 1 that's just right. Soon I heard a squawky commotion outside the windows, which upon inspection revealed a bald eagle sitting across the inlet being mobbed by crows, sparrows and 2 red tailed hawks. The poor eagle was simply sitting there, not saying anything, no flapping of wings or flexing of talons, no snapping of beaks that I could detect (and it’s a narrow little inlet) but everyone was in an uproar, diving and screaming feathered obscenities, plummeting directly at him and pulling themselves up short. A whole lot of whoopla over nothing to my eye, though I am not sitting on a nest. The only ones that seemed not to care were the belted Kingfishers who continued to throw themselves into the sea with the grace of an 11 year old boy heaving a watermelon off a dock hoping to splash his 14 year old sister and her friends. I love them! But they don’t seem that bright. Maybe it’s all the traumatic brain injury caused by rampant fishing?  But bless them, they are tireless, never seeming to need their batteries changed.