Couple of Mexicans Sleeping In My Back Yard

Tachycineta bicolor, a little bird that winters in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean (a bird also known as "Tree Swallow") has made a nest inside a little yellow bird house in my back yard.

Since they usually nest near water . . . I'm wondering if they thought our little koi pond was large enough for them (the nearest lake is a mile away and the nearest creek is about 5 blocks down the road).

I keep seeing the pair carrying grass and small twigs to the bird house. They're REALLY working hard at making their home comfortable . . . as I've seen them coming and going with bedding material for the past couple of days now. Since these birds eat a lot of harmful insects, they're more than welcomed in my yard. Meanwhile, I'm also happy to share my raspberries, strawberries, cherries, and all other forms of fruit with them (food offerings that Doug and I now have growing in our yard; that's not to mention all the wild gooseberry, elderberry, huckleberry and native currants I planted to attract wildlife as we also sustain ourselves with fresh and canned sweets to eat through the winter).

I was trying to research the ancient totem animal message from "tree swallow." Meanwhile . . . all I could find was information about the swallow in general. According to "Animal Speak" by Ted Andrews, the swallow "often shows up when you are allowing yourself to rehash old issues and problems and not move on. Its an indication you need some perspective."

I look forward to watching the tree swallows all summer and learning what this visitor has to teach me. I feel thankful they chose to share my home. I wonder where, exactly, they wintered and will have to meditate on that to learn more. (While I wrote the above title to be cute. Meanwhile, intuitively I actually "get" these two birds were most recently living in the Caribbean.)