ST. JOSEPH'S DAY AND THE RETURN OF THE SWALLOWS

 

This is to continue the series of posts leading up to the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary on March 19.

Today's post relates to my top favorite in Saint Joseph lore -- the return of the swallows to Mission San Juan Capistrano in Southern California on St Joseph's feast day, an event that still goes on in current times.

During spring and summer, the Mission and its nearby environment provide an ideal habitat for the cliff swallows, who nest in little mud huts. The tradition is that the cliff swallows leave to winter in Argentina and return to Mission San Juan Capistrano on St. Joseph's Day, March 19th. 

While there is some elaboration to the tradition and there have been some difficulties during the past few years, this is nevertheless an actual documented event.

 According to Fr. St. John O’Sullivan, who was pastor of Mission San Juan Capistrano from 1910-33, the swallows came to dwell at the Mission this way:

A nearby shopkeeper was using a broom to knock down the swallows' nests from the eaves of his shop, causing considerable upset to the birds. Father asked the man what he was doing and the man replied that he was getting rid of the nuisance caused by the dirty birds. Father then invited the swallows to the Mission and welcomed them there.

It is well-documented that after summering in San Juan Capistrano, the swallows leave around October 23 (the Feast of San Juan Capistrano) and migrate to Goya, Argentina. They arrive about November 24 and spend the winter.  The trip spans between 6,000 and 7,500 miles depending on the route.  They typically follow the California coast, flying at high altitudes and traveling about 30 days.

Goya mirrors the perfect nesting ground they have in San Juan Capistrano. Both locales have nearby rivers that provide mud for their cone-shaped nests.Thus they live in a perpetual spring that is suitable for their survival and reproduction (As a result of this connection, San Juan Capistrano, California and Goya, Argentina became sister cities in 1985.)

The swallows are diurnal migrants.  That means that while in migration, they fly during the day and rest every night.  Typically they start flying shortly after sunrise and travel about 200 miles a day. The swallows' primary food source consists of insects.  They are aerial insectivores, meaning that they hunt with their mouths open and eat while in flight, consuming flying insects while still airborne.  A single adult swallow can eat from 800 to 850 insects a day including flies, beetles, grasshoppers, aphids, bees, wasps, mosquitos, and gnats.  They consume even more on a daily basis while nesting.

The return of the swallows is the occasion of a major celebration in San Juan Capistrano with a parade, pageantry, lectures, and the ringing of the historic mission bells.  This celebration, in one form or another, goes back to the days of Father O'Sullivan himself, as it was he who initiated the Return of the Swallows parade.

Unfortunately in recent years there have been fewer swallows at the Mission itself due to some structural work that made the mission itself less suitable for the birds.  Many steps have been taken to remedy this problem and encourage the swallows to nest at the mission again.  Consulting with ornithologists they have used recorded mating calls and artificial nests.  And in March 2025 it was confirmed that the sparrows indeed flew over the great stone ruins of the Mission shortly after the festivities.

One cannot help but compare the welcoming attitude of Fr. O'Sullivan, and of those who celebrate the swallows' return, with those of the shopkeeper whose attitude was like Chinese Communist Mao Tse Tung.  Chairman Mao thought sparrows were pests that ate the grain so he instituted a campaign to kill them all.  Unlike the swallows, the sparrows were not able to remain airborne for long periods. The obedient citizens of Mao's regime used noisemakers to keep the sparrows from returning to their nests (The Eliminate Sparrows campaign, which was part of "The 4 Pests Campaign"). 

Thus all the sparrows died of exhaustion.  And, without the sparrows to eat the true pests (locusts), the true pests proceeded to eat the crops.  The end result was famine, with a large loss of life among the populace - millions died.