Cliff Swallow

The last photograph we took on our return from Olympia on 25 July 2014 was this Cliff Swallow as it peered from its nest under a South Dakota Interstate overpass. Both sexes build their mud nests. They gather mud, usually within a half-miles of their colony. They bring the mud to the nest and mold it with a shaking motion of their bills. The result is a hollow ball, often with a long, downward entrance tunnel. Birds will often steal mud from nearby nests. The nests are lined with grass, either gasthered nearby or taken form other nests. Nests are generally finished after a day, but are maintained during the breeding season. Unmated males may take over existing nests or begin building a nest in hopes of attracting a female (Brown and Brown 1995). Cliff Swallow colonies can be quite large, often numbering in hundreds of nests.