Cliff Swallows Have Returned To Santa Cruz

Note: not sure if this represents the species we see here, in Santa Cruz, or not 

Wikipedia:

"Petrochelidon is a genus of birds known as cliff-nesting swallows. The genus includes all of the five species of birds commonly called cliff swallow...."

Noticed them this weekend, for the first time this year. They speedily swoop by, circle, dive, ascend. Maybe 12-24 in sight, at any one time? They seem to individually fly, not flock. One web site describes their song: "guttural grating sounds and squeaks" which sounds unpleasant, but seems just fine, to me. Our cats seem to find it all very entertaining.

The birds return annually to nest, then return to South America, to over-winter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrochelidon
http://www.nativeanimalrescue.org/the-amazing-swallow/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Santa_Cruz_County,_California