Swallow swarm on the Islands

I was out on the Islands again on Wednesday, and I walked from the Ward's Island ferry docks all the way to the snack bar at Hanlan's Point, then back again. The weather was about as beautiful as it could possibly be. On the rocky southwest shore, I found the carcass of a fish as big as my thigh. I investigated Gibraltar Point Beach, the one I hadn't been to before, and found it to be smaller than Hanlan's, quiet and shady.

Walking back, I found myself in a clearing on the south shore, near where the boardwalk begins, late in the afternoon. There were a lot of tiny gnats in the air, and these had attracted dozens of swallows, which were all darting and swooping and chirping madly. I stood in the middle of the clearing and they flew all around me, and just above my head: I was standing in a cloud of swallows. It was impossible to photograph, since they moved so quickly, but I shot a video that maybe gives you some idea:



Photo set here.