Cliff Swallows Collecting Nesting Material
Cliff swallows build nests out of clay in vertical natural and man-made structures. The nest building requires several trips to the source of clay, sometimes numbering in hundreds. In this image, taken in late afternoon, the hyper-active swallows are collecting clay immediately after a rain-shower.
Cliff swallows gather on rushes to feed on the seed in late summer. The flock of swallows number in the hundreds containing both mature and juveniles hatched earlier in the year. They are busy consuming the seeds in the heads of the stalks in preparation for their fall migration.
