Returning Home

There's probably 15 to 20 purple martins now at the colony. They are very chatty birds, mostly amongst themselves I think, but maybe they're talking to me, I don't know. Every so often there's a mass exodus with an increase in volume as they circle high in the sky. Supposedly they catch insects high up, as opposed to tree swallows that swoop low over the water.

This one is a female, which you can tell by the grey underparts and less vibrant colour. Just about the only way I've managed to photograph them in flight is as they approach their house. When leaving and flying around they are too fast. Maybe in better light!