April 16, 1999

     The Barn Swallow

Although most barn swallows arrive in late late April or early May, we look for the first ones perched on power lines in rural areas by mid-April.

Like other swallows, the barn swallow migrates during the day, catching its food as it goes.  They are abundant summer residents that nest throughout Minnesota.  They are most numerous in farming areas, with fewer in heavily wooded spots.

The barn swallow is certainly a candidate for the greatest traveler among land birds as it winters in South America as far south as Tierra del Fuego.  The breeding range extends from northwestern Alaska to Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, including much of Canada and the United States.

Barn swallows nest in barns or other buildings and also in hollow trees, caves and crevices of rocky cliffs.   We seldom find more than six or eight nests in one place, although an observer reported once seeing 27 in a single barn.