Swallow Spectacle

Connecticut isn't exactly the first place most people think about when they imagine wildlife spectacles significant enough for the pages of National Geographic. After spending ten days surrounded by the untouched beauty and spectacular wild things of the Galapagos Islands, it was going to be hard to find anything our state could offer to match what we had just experienced. Lucky for us, early fall is the perfect time (the only time) to view one of our states own natural wonders - the dance of the swallows! Desperate to keep our wildlife adventure alive (or face immediate and significant withdrawal), we spent an afternoon on the boat, arriving at the mouth of the Connecticut River (where it empties into Long Island Sound) just before dusk - and just in time to see almost 500,000 tree swallows bed down for the evening.

Every fall, during the months of September and October, tree swallows congregate in the lower Connecticut River during their southward migration. In the evening, the birds fly from up to 25 miles away to roost on a island called Goose Island, that is 100% covered with an invasive plant, a large reed called Phragmites australis. At dusk they converge near and over the island. The giant flock of birds create an amazingly graceful "ballet" in the sky and eventually form a massive funnel just after sunset and plunge themselves down into a communal roost in the marsh for the night. It is truly an amazing sight to see. If you have been lucky enough to experience it in person, you know these pictures and video clips don't do it justice, you really must be there to see and hear it yourself.

Left: the backseat crew: me, Summit, mom and dad. Right: old boat on the river

Left: Goose Island (Phragmites and gathering swallows). Right: swarm o' swallows

Left: Dancing the swallow ballet. Right: The final funnel

So thank you swallows, for making our transition back to Connecticut a little easier. It's nice to know we have our own wild things right here in our backyard. We'll see you again next year.

heading home...