Welcome those Mosquito-loving SWALLOWS!

Not long ago we received this e-mail from Gary Clark* : "I thought you might be interested to know that a large colony of Cliff Swallows is nesting under the Lake Woodlands Drive bridge ... Historically, Barn Swallows have dominated the bridge, but they seem to have been crowded out by Cliff Swallows. I think this represents an interesting eastward expansion of Cliff Swallows, which normally nest a bit farther west around Hempstead, Brenham, and beyond."

Which swallows are which?? Stop to take a look at those tiny birds that swoop over the lake near Woodlands Parkway - these are the Barn Swallows (see little photo on the left). They have a forked tail. Like all swallows, their streamlined body and long pointed wings make them very adapted for swooping and grabbing insects on the wing. And just look at that mouth! Wide enough to catch a bunch of bugs, for sure!!

Now head to the northern end of the lake and look under Lake Woodlands Drive Bridge (from Northshore Park). Those birds have a tail that is NOT forked! Its tip is square across. These are the Cliff Swallows that Gary Clark mentioned. The bridge provides a protective overhang and a nearby mud source. If you look at the photo at the top, each mud nest is made up of about a thousand small, mud pellets. Each mating pair in the colony shapes its home piece by piece into a bottle-necked nest which they then line it with grasses and feathers.

Welcome them all. They're our friends. They eat our mosquitoes!!

* Gary Clark writes the weekly nature column for the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express News. Be sure to look for his article every Saturday in those newspapers!!