Residents of Lake County are fortunate in that their county is teeming with wildlife. Lake County has one of most active Audubon groups in the state and is home to wild birds by the thousands.
One of the most popular and interesting visitors to Lake County is the cliff swallow. Clear Lake hosts a vast number of migratory birds but only one species, the cliff swallow, travels thousands of miles to get here. It’s a tiny bird and it’s one of nature’s miracles that something so small can travel such great distances.
The cliff swallow is 5-6 inches long and is the only square-tailed swallow in California. In contrast, the barn swallow is distinguished by its long, deeply forked tail. The cliff swallow is also recognized by its pale orange-brown rump, white forehead, dark rust-colored throat and steel blue crown and back.
Cliff swallows spend their winters in South America. They start migrating north in the late winter or early spring. The famed swallows of the Mission San Juan Capistrano in Southern California are cliff swallows. They always return there March 19. The swallows are already showing up around Clear Lake and have started building nests.
Swallows only migrate during daylight hours, the reason being they have to feed as they fly. Their bodies uses up a tremendous amount of energy in the process. Their diet consists of flying insects and they can catch even the smallest of insects.
Upon arriving at their selected nesting area they build nests beneath the docks or beneath the eaves of buildings located near water. They often return to the same nest from the previous year. Their nests are gourd-shaped and made from mud and lined with feathers. The birds gather the mud by rubbing their chests and feet in the wet mud. The mud forms little balls and sticks to their chest and feet, which they carry to the nest. The entrance to the nest always points downward. Both the female and male build the nest, which can take several days to complete.
Cliff swallows nest in colonies and some of the docks around the lake have up to a dozen or more nests. Bridges, such as the one that crosses Rodman Slough, are also popular nesting areas. The female lays from four to six white eggs. An unusual trait of the cliff swallow is that a female often moves her eggs into the nest of another swallow.
Both the male and female incubate the eggs, which take 12-16 days to hatch. Within about 20 days after hatching the young are ready to fly. They spend the summer feeding and gaining strength for the long journey southward in the fall. They start their southward migration in late September and are completely gone by November.
Whereas swallows are part of the Lake County landscape they’re not popular with everyone. They tend to build their nests in unwanted places and often become pests, leaving their droppings on decks and other places. However, they are an important part of the county’s ecosystem.
Many dock owners around the lake install fine mesh nets around their docks to discourage swallows from nesting. Some even go as far as to destroy the nests. Technically, because the swallow falls under the Migratory Bird Act, destroying an active nest is illegal. The Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) considers Feb. 15 to Sept. 1 to be the swallow nesting season. Completed nests during this breeding season cannot be touched without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Outside of these dates nests can be removed without a permit. During the nesting season a permit authorizing nest removal is issued only if it can be justified by strong, compelling reasons.
Barn swallow
Lake County also has a close relative of the cliff swallow — the barn swallow. Whereas a barn swallow occasionally builds a nest on a dock, most build their nests inland. A barn swallow can be identified by its long forked tail. The interesting fact about barn swallows is that the female selects her mate by the length of his tail.
Swallows are important in that they help control the insect population. They are also fun to watch as they dart around the docks.
Lake County is more famous for it outstanding fishing than for bird watching, but the county is rich in various species of birds and it’s amazing the number of tourists who come here just to observe its bird life. It’s not only the fish swimming in the lake but the birds flying above that makes the county so intriguing.
