Les and I were in the pilothouse enjoying our morning coffee. Ours is a simple and informal coffee clatch… just the two of us and of course, Leo was there… He doesn’t add much to the conversation, but… his presence is essential. Sometimes we sit and talk. Sometimes we just sit. In a languorous moment between sips of coffee and torpid contemplation, Les perked up and chirped: “Hey, look out the window!”. This is what she was alerting me to:
Little tiny birds. Perched and flitting about. Lots of them. Our rails were covered with them. And… the lifelines of the Swan next door were providing perfect perch opportunities as a well found sailing machine should:
Other boat rails and lifelines were suffering the same fate as ours and the Swan:
Locally we have Barn Swallows, Cliff Swallows and Purple Martins, the largest swallow. The birds perching on ours and other marina boats… were Cliff Swallows.
Per Cornell lab All About Birds, one of my favorite birding authorities: “Cliff Swallows are a long-distance migrant. Cliff Swallows spend several months migrating at a leisurely pace through Mexico, Central America, and eastern South America to reach their wintering grounds. They migrate during daytime in groups of up to several hundred, foraging as they move”.
Well… a large flock migrated right through our marina. They perched. They flitted. They preened. They chased and ate flying insects. They peered at us through the windows. They rested. Then they were gone.
Salish Sea Cruising With Blair, Les, Leo, and Bliss 