Little Hitchhikers

Idly, I looked through the cockpit window as I finished the ken-ken puzzle. A small bird sat on the lifeline. I hurried up to the doghouse to look out at it. Originally, I had thought it was a storm petrel, common birds here, but when I was up close to it I was sure it was a swallow. Appearing exhausted, it flew heavily into a corner under the doghouse, where it fell asleep. It spent about an hour sitting there until it was rested. Soon it was flitting around the cockpit, becoming less and less nervous by the minute. It landed on Rabbit's head, then moved to his shoulder. It eventually went into the doghouse, where it fell asleep again. Three hours later it resumed fluttering around the cockpit. After thirty minutes, it was gone. In the evening, it was back, with friends. With Bob Marley cooing in my head, three little birds right by my doorstep, sat there into the evening until it was too dark for us to see them. In the morning, there was a huddle of swallows on the deck, presumably trying to keep warm. They continued flitting around, even as I wrote this.

I took me a few tries, but I came up with a theory for why they are hundreds of miles from land. They are barn swallows. There is one juvenile and two adults. While it is possible, I do not think they are two parents and their chick. Swallows tend to fly in flocks from two to one thousand birds so these could be random birds. They are also slightly battered. All this, and the season, leads me to believe that they were blown offshore during their migration from Southern South America where they molt and winter every year. They also appeared very tired when they arrived, so I do not think they came onto the ocean on purpose. Regardless of the reasons for them being out here, it is fun to watch the birds play so near, you can count the primary feathers of their wings. We will post pictures of our little hitchhikers when we get to the next place with wifi.-Porter

Ed. Note: We are currently about 300 miles west of the Bay of Biscay and 500 miles southwest of Ireland: 44°45'N 16°10'W as of noon UTC on Wednesday, May 13. We have been sailing slowly in order to allow a low pressure system, complete with big wind and waves, pass to the north of us. Once it has gone by, we will pick up the pace and head straight to Ireland. If all goes well, we should be there early next week.