From the waning days of Summer through the early days of Autumn a small island near the mouth of the Connecticut River is the playhouse to a ballet in the sky. It is an avian spectacle that to some is unparalleled. The stage is Goose Island in Old Lyme, Connecticut. The actors are the Tachycineta bicolor. Commonly known as Tree Swallows, there are estimates of up to 400,000 performing in each show. Performances are every day from late August to early October. Showtime varies from one to two hours before sunset.
The Show
Actors in the ballet begin arriving shortly before sunset. They come in waves from all directions of the northeast joining with the actors already on stage. The thousands of birds perform an un-choreographed ballet that changes every second right above your heads. As the sun moves closer to the horizon the speed of the ballet seems to pick up. It culminates in a final scene that is never the same. It will often will leave you speechless. After dancing in the sky, the ballet will end just minutes past sunset with the chorus of Tree Swallows forming a tornado as they dive to the weeds of Goose Island to roost for the night. Some nights it will be a waterfall, not a tornado. Regardless, it will always end in a spectacular movement of all the birds diving to the island for the night.
Migration
The Tree Swallows are actually on their migration to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean for the winter months. Goose Island is a temporary place for them to spend a night. At times their numbers are so large that weather radar will pick up their movement. I have seen National Weather Service Radar images that show a radar blip moving from the tip of eastern Long Island, across Long Island Sound and over to Goose Island. The radar blip suddenly disappeared just past sunset.
Seeing the Show
For those that do not live on the banks of the Connecticut River near Goose Island the only way to see the show is by water. There are companies that offer sunset cruises to view the Tree Swallows or if you are so inclined you can reach the area by boat.
Sheer Drama
Roger Tory Peterson was known as the dean of American bird watching and a long-time resident of Old Lyme. Before his passing in 1996 he was quoted as saying: “I have seen a million flamingos on the lakes of East Africa and as many seabirds on the cliffs of the Alaska Pribilofs, but for sheer drama, the tornadoes of tree swallows eclipsed any other avian spectacle I have ever seen.”
This is an event that should be on everyone’s bucket list!