{"id":51012,"date":"2018-02-18T06:26:07","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T13:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=51012"},"modified":"2025-05-16T08:31:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:31:49","slug":"with-midges-emerging-will-swallows-arrive-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/02\/18\/with-midges-emerging-will-swallows-arrive-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"With Midges Emerging Will Swallows Arrive Soon?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BarnBarn Swallow stretching on a post – Nikon D500, f9, 1\/500, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

When I wrote about the Tundra Swans I photographed on the 13th of February I forgot to mention something that I found when I stopped to answer the call of nature.<\/p>\n

Regular visitors to my blog will probably remember that in December I found a Great Horned Owl because of a nature break<\/span><\/a> and that was pretty exciting, what I found 5 days ago certainly wasn’t as thrilling as that owl but it did get to me thinking more about spring and the birds that will soon migrate to and through Utah.<\/p>\n

So, I’m guessing you all know it has to be a midge I found during my pee break because of the title of this post and you would be correct.<\/p>\n

It surprised me to see a live midge in the restroom where the auto tour route at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> begins (and ends), I had seen a low of 19\u00b0F that morning and it just seems a bit too early for midges to be emerging already but there it was, a midge wiggling on the floor of the restroom.<\/p>\n

Of course my mind went to all the birds that feed on the midges at the refuge that will soon be arriving including the five species of swallows that are seen there.<\/p>\n

\"PerchedPerched Tree Swallow adult calling – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/200, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

During the winter I miss our swallows, I miss their noisy calls, watching the Cliff and Barn Swallows gathering mud to make their nests and seeing hundreds or even thousands of swallows perched while they preen and watching them catching all kinds of bugs on the wing.<\/p>\n

\"eBird<\/p>\n

I went to eBird<\/span><\/a> and looked up the Bird Observations in Utah then scrolled down to the swallows to check out observations throughout the year and saw that Northern Rough-winged Swallows seem to be the first to usually appear in February, and of course the swallows will appear in southern Utah before they arrive here in northern Utah.<\/p>\n

Tree Swallows then Violet-green Swallows make their appearance next towards the end of February followed by Barn and Bank Swallows in March. I suppose I could dig deeper into the earliest reported sightings of our swallows here in northern Utah on eBird but I simply don’t have the time this morning.<\/p>\n

Starting tomorrow according to Accuweather from tomorrow until the beginning of March we are in for normal winter temperatures, which is a switch from the mild winter we have had so far, and we might even get some snow tomorrow and Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"CliffCliff Swallow at mud puddle – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/350, ISO 200, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

That one midge I saw in the restroom at Bear River MBR did cause me to wonder if the swallows will show up early this year in northern Utah or will the predicted cooler weather cause them arrive at their normal time.<\/p>\n

I don’t know and won’t know until I start to see them flying through the sky. I just know that I am looking forward to seeing the swallows again.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my swallow photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That one midge I saw in the restroom at Bear River MBR did cause me to wonder if the swallows will show up early this year in northern Utah or will the predicted cooler weather cause them arrive at their normal time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":144351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2108,124,27,1148,2578,489,2244,3717,4594,2261,2171,26],"tags":[4004,2111,4072,2420,4545,4365,540,6367,4104,641,3964,4807,3470,4377,1523],"class_list":["post-51012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-barn-swallows","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-clark-county","category-cliff-swallows","category-idaho","category-modoc-creek","category-morgan-county","category-targhee-national-forest","category-tree-swallows","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-barn-swallow","tag-calling","tag-cliff-swallow","tag-hirundo-rustica","tag-midge","tag-midges","tag-mud-puddle","tag-perched","tag-petrochelidon-pyrrhonota","tag-stretching","tag-swallow","tag-swallows","tag-tachycineta-bicolor","tag-tree-swallow"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/barn-swallow-stretching-post-mia-mcpherson-7655.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-dgM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7384,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/02\/03\/bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge-barn-swallow\/","url_meta":{"origin":51012,"position":0},"title":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge Barn Swallow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge has five species of swallows, they are Tree, Northern Rough-winged, Violet-green, Cliff and Barn Swallows.","rel":"","context":"In "Barn Swallows"","block_context":{"text":"Barn Swallows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/swallows\/barn-swallows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Barn Swallow at Bear River MBR, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/barn-swallow-perched-mia-mcpherson-1401.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/barn-swallow-perched-mia-mcpherson-1401.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/barn-swallow-perched-mia-mcpherson-1401.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100381,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/05\/swallow-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":51012,"position":1},"title":"Swallow Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I wanted to share swallow photos that show the six species of swallows I see and photograph in northern Utah while they are here for their nesting season.","rel":"","context":"In "Bank Swallows"","block_context":{"text":"Bank Swallows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/swallows\/bank-swallows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Violet-green Swallow adult back view, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/violet-green-swallow-male-back-view-mia-mcpherson-1622.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/violet-green-swallow-male-back-view-mia-mcpherson-1622.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/violet-green-swallow-male-back-view-mia-mcpherson-1622.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/violet-green-swallow-male-back-view-mia-mcpherson-1622.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":125851,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/25\/tree-swallows-have-migrated-into-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":51012,"position":2},"title":"Tree Swallows Have Migrated Into Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the weekend, I read on Facebook that Tree Swallows have migrated back into Northern Utah for their breeding season. I am so excited about that news!","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tree Swallow peeking out of a natural nesting cavity in the High Uintas, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-aspen-high-uintas-mia-mcpherson-6727.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-aspen-high-uintas-mia-mcpherson-6727.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-aspen-high-uintas-mia-mcpherson-6727.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-aspen-high-uintas-mia-mcpherson-6727.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":116184,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/22\/late-summer-barn-swallow-delight\/","url_meta":{"origin":51012,"position":3},"title":"Late Summer Barn Swallow Delight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I was thoroughly delighted to capture several late summer Barn Swallow photos during my last trip to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I was truly thrilled.","rel":"","context":"In "Barn Swallows"","block_context":{"text":"Barn Swallows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/swallows\/barn-swallows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Late summer Barn Swallow adult, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/barn-swallow-late-summer-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0618.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/barn-swallow-late-summer-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0618.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/barn-swallow-late-summer-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0618.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/barn-swallow-late-summer-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0618.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60050,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/09\/07\/swallow-quartet-bank-barn-cliff-and-tree-swallows-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":51012,"position":4},"title":"Swallow Quartet – Bank, Barn, Cliff And Tree Swallows At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I was glad to be able to photograph Bank, Barn, Cliff and Tree Swallows perched on top of a stand of phragmites near the auto tour route on the refuge in early morning light.","rel":"","context":"In "Bank Swallows"","block_context":{"text":"Bank Swallows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/swallows\/bank-swallows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Barn Swallow lifting off, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/barn-swallow-adult-lifting-off-mia-mcpherson-0067.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/barn-swallow-adult-lifting-off-mia-mcpherson-0067.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/barn-swallow-adult-lifting-off-mia-mcpherson-0067.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/barn-swallow-adult-lifting-off-mia-mcpherson-0067.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37463,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/03\/26\/cliff-swallow-nesting-season-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":51012,"position":5},"title":"Cliff Swallow Nesting Season at Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"More of the swallows will migrate to the refuge very soon and the Cliff Swallow nesting season will start.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bear River Cliff Swallow perched on phragmites, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-adult-mia-mcpherson-1307.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-adult-mia-mcpherson-1307.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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