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One of the nice things about visiting Anahuac in the spring is that you're sure to see plenty of swallows. We always enjoy watching the Barn Swallows there as they swoop and dive around the old visitor center, where they build nests under the eaves. So on this visit we were surprised and disappointed to see only Tree Swallows in the area around the visitor center.We needn't have worried, though. When we reached the area again on our way out of the refuge, a few Barn Swallows were perched on utility wires, looking very elegant indeed.
Several adult male Purple Martins on the wires looked equally debonair.
However, some juveniles perched nearby hadn't yet reached the elegant stage in either appearance or behavior.
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I've been enjoying your blog for a couple of years and now am working as a full-time volunteer at Anahuac. I spend a lot of time in the butterfly garden area and enjoy the barn swallows too. They came in this year to find that we had torn down their nest when the old Visitor Center got remolded. They haven't started building a new one yet but I've been watching for it.
ReplyDeleteWe'll have another Visitor Center open in May, just 2 miles from I-10 south on the Anahuac/Liberty exit. It's on Lake Anahuac and is wooded so will have different birds. And we'll have great displays.
Give me a holler when you come back and be sure to go on to High Island. The rookery is already spectacular.
I didn't know about the new center.
ReplyDeleteHaven't been to High Island yet this year; we're waiting until April. In the meantime we're off to San Antonio and Uvalde in search of some different birds.