Ottawa Valley Canoe And Kayak

Have you ever thought of stepping off a plane into the middle of the deepest wilderness to search for traces of a legendary lost explorer who vanished more than a century ago? My latest expedition was exactly that, the full story of which is told in my book Vanished Beyond the Map, available in hardcover, audiobook, and ebook editions wherever books are sold: https://adamshoalts.com/literature/

Peak spring migration! The next 6 weeks are some of the most exciting weeks of the whole tour year. Looking forward to enjoying them together; my tour offerings are posted here: https://eontbird.ca/?page_id=7

Jon Ruddy
Eastern Ontario Birding
[email protected]

Come see us at the Show this weekend! Show Specials on Nova Craft Canoes and Old Town Watercraft and much more!

Every meal I eat is caught in mid-air while I'm flying with my mouth open.

I'm a Barn Swallow. I'm nesting in your garage. The mud cup on the rafter above your car is mine. And every morning since I built it, I've left at first light and spent the entire day on the wing.

I fly continuously from dawn to dusk. Mouth open, scooping insects from the air — flies, mosquitoes, beetles, gnats, mayflies. One every few seconds. Hundreds per hour. I drink on the wing, skimming the pond surface with my beak at full speed without landing. I bathe on the wing, dipping my chest into water while flying. The only time I land is at the nest — to feed the chicks. Then back in the air.

A pair of Barn Swallows with chicks removes thousands of flying insects from your immediate airspace every day. Over a full nesting season from May through August, the number is enormous. I'm the reason you can sit on your patio at dusk without a face full of gnats.

The nest is a cup of mud and grass pressed onto a rafter, a ledge, or a bracket under any structure with an overhang and an open entry. I built it over about a week from hundreds of beak-loads of mud carried one at a time. The nest hardens into a solid structure that lasts for years. I return to the same nest in the same garage every spring. If you close the garage over winter, I'll circle it for days next March looking for the opening.

The deeply forked tail isn't just for steering. Males with longer, more symmetrical tail streamers attract mates faster. The female evaluates the tail in flight — the fork is both an air brake and an advertisement. The swallow you see banking over your yard with the longest streamers is the one who mated first this season.

🐦 How to keep your barn swallows:

- Leave the garage door open about six inches — enough for the swallow to enter and exit but not enough for most larger animals. A gap at the top of the door or a propped-open side door works. The swallows need flight access from first light to last light every day during nesting

- If the mud nest is on a rafter above your car, tape a piece of cardboard below it to catch droppings. The nest itself is clean — the mess is the f***l sac droppings from feeding chicks, and a simple board or cardboard shelf catches everything

- Don't knock the nest down after the birds leave in fall. They return to the same nest every spring and repair it rather than building from scratch. A nest that's been used for several years is a proven site that attracts returning pairs immediately

- If you want to attract swallows to a new structure, mount a small shelf or bracket under an overhang near an open entry and leave a mud source nearby — a patch of wet soil or a puddle that stays damp. They build where mud and shelter meet

- The swallows arrive in late April in most areas. The garage door should be accessible by then. A pair that finds the nest intact and the entry open starts laying within days of arrival

Leave the garage door open six inches. That's all I need 🌿

Feels great getting back into the rhythm of our spring production schedule! Now's a great time to finalize your order if you're thinking of a new canoe for your 2026 paddling season.

I've got book signings and speaker events coming up in Ontario, Alberta, and BC! This weekend I'm at the Great Canadian Outdoor Show in Springwater, ON. This link has details on all my upcoming events: https://adamshoalts.com/upcoming-book-events/

Soon enough, the footprints will be in sand not snow, and the fog will be over open water, not ice.
❄️ ☀️
The magic of seasons!