If You String It, They Will Come

One day, when we came back to the land for our afternoon shift, we saw these barn swallows sitting on the catch wires that we strung in the vineyard. We were in our truck when we took this photo:

When I went home, I looked on the Internet to find out a little more about barn swallows. I learned that barn swallows are insectivores and catch most of their prey while in flight! I was delighted to learn that 99% of their diet is made up of flies, grasshoppers, crickets, dragonflies, beetles, moths and other flying insects.¹

The article went on to explain that the barn swallows have been observed following tractors and plows, catching the insects that are disturbed by the machinery. This explains why we are seeing barn swallows. I hope that they are catching all of the Japanese beetles that are making their annual appearance.

I was also able to capture this long range view of an Eastern Bluebird sitting on our linepost. Bluebirds are another welcome site because they eat insects. Major prey include caterpillars, beetles crickets, grasshoppers, and spiders.²
References:
1. BioKids: Kids' Inquiry of Diverse Species.
2. Cornell Ornithology Lab: Eastern Bluebird.