Hunt For Mosquitoes
“Mosquitoes are brutal now!”
We are being warned by the DCR officer before we take off for our trip in the Belle Isle Marshes.
A few birds are completing some acrobatic maneuvers in the air above our heads.
“Mosquitoes! Mosquitoes! Mosquitoes! ” swallows overheard our conversation and chant the names of the insects we are getting ready to fight against.
It’s a show to see how barn swallows or swifts or tree swallows hunt for mosquitoes and other insects in the air.
I keep making fast pictures of tree swallows flying over the water and meadow and feeding on small, aerial insects that they catch in their mouths. They do these acrobatics fast and routinely. Photos are just a poor reflection of this spontaneous air show.