Eastern Tree Swallows follow the
Atlantic Flyway to their wintering grounds in Florida, the Bahamas, and the
Caribbean.
From the Canadian Maritimes and
northern New England the swallows will leave their breeding grounds and form
loose flocks in the tens and twenties. These flocks join together to form ever
larger groups. And in Connecticut they stop to rest and refuel before going on.
Goose Island in the lower Connecticut River can have hundreds of thousands of
swallows roosting at night. They spend several days flying as many as 50 miles
away to northern and western Connecticut and to Long Island to feed on insects
and berries, returning to Goose Island each evening to roost in the safety of the
numbers.
Each
day some of the Tree Swallows will leave the group and be replaced by ones from
farther north. As the Tree Swallows migrate farther south they continue to stop
in reed beds every 100 miles or so, roosting together at night and foraging
separately during the day.
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