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June

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This Month in Yellowstone
Cliff Swallows Build Nests - June 26

On June 26, Tom Cawley (Web Coordinator) took a mid-afternoon break to head home for a snack. He had been watching for a location where cliff swallows were gathering to collect mud to build their nests. Since it had rained early in the afternoon, it seemed likely that there would be a mud puddle or two that the swallows would be working. As he passed the old Power House in Lower Mammoth, it was obvious that the swallows were hard at work with their nest-building efforts. They were coming and going from the under-eaves so quickly that they looked like honeybees in front of a hive.

As he pulled into his usual parking spot, Tom noticed a flurry of activity in a dirt parking area about 30 yards away. There were about 20 swallows gathering mud at the edge of a small puddle. Within a stones throw, there were nests being built under the eaves of the old Power House. It was time to break out the video camera.