Last year two swallows moved into my barn and built their nest. This year, they returned, and two more (maybe their grown up chicks?) arrived and made my barn their home to raise their families.
The chicks always make me smile. They are so amusing to watch as they wait for their parents to show up with a tasty morsel.
I enjoy listening to the swallows sing and flutter in and out of my barn all day. And at night they settle in and roost together. They do a fantastic job keeping the insect population down, too. This year, the fly population is very low, and I know I have the swallows to thank for that.
Sometimes when I sit in the barn, they will fly close enough for me to feel the little breezes caused by their wings. And they will often sit within arm reach, as if they have no fear of me.
I am wondering if all barns have swallows and if they are common everywhere, or at least in the United States and Canada? Do you have barn swallows?
I’m curious to know what my reader's favorite birds are that live around your home or in your area.
From the Tower of,
25 comments :
In my barn the finches ran all the swallows off! And oooo those darn finches are messy! I need to put hardware cloth up in the peak so they wont nest up there. I was doing Emmas feet yesturday and the finches were fighting on the roof! making a huge racket, I had to go out and throw gravel on the roof to chase them off,(aluminum roof over plywood) and scared Emma in the process LOL good thing Meghan was holding her.
I love the swallows too - we also have tree swallows - all iridescent blue and white with no russet - over the prairies - there are certainly plenty of mosquitos for them to eat this year! Love your photos - they aren't just technically good, but catch the spirit of the thing.
We have them. After we got rid of the cows they evacuated the barn for about 3 years. Last year they came back and boy do they build nests in stupid spots. One pair insisted on trying to build a nest on my scale hanging from the ceiling (1 inch wide!) Anyway this years one nest I walked under every morning. It's only about another foot above my head. Suddenly I looked up one day and there were to fledglings that had just left the nest sitting half a foot from my face on a bar in the barn. I thought it was funny they were not afraid. They watched me walk under them several times a day. I went to see if I could touch one and it fluttered away and landed on Indigos head (who was napping in the cross ties) right between her ears. She didn't even notice until it started flapping it's head off and beating her precious little ears. She shook to dislodge it from it's inappropriate roost and it flew back to the bar again. Haha.
This year we had tree, violet- green, and barn swallows on our property! We have never had that happen on our WA home before! Our 4 baby barn swallows just left the nest last week. I thought the parents were going to try for another clutch, but I don't know if that is common for them. They did have a second clutch last year because the first 3 babies died on the SUPER HOT 4th of July heat wave. We tried so hard to keep them in the nest, even going as far as duct taping them in, but the nestlings kept jumping out and they eventually all died. I sure wish I could get pictures like yours! The angle in my barn up to the nest makes it way too dark...
Great photos Lisa! I especially like the one with the plyers next to the swallow. Feels very "country".
I have no barn swallows. I also have no barn. I love seeing yours though.
My favorite bird has that long split tail...
I'll have to google search it out.
We have canyon swallows who build condos under the tower that houses the pumps for the dam at the lake. I love their athletic entries into their nests.
left you a response on my blog, btw...
Your swallows are so pretty!
I don't know if I have them, but I only have run in sheds for the horses and they can't make nests there. We have a ton of birds, and we keep the bird feeders full at all times. I love the gold finches. I am not very familiar with bird types, so I have a hard time knowing what we have. But there are some very pretty ones around!
We used to be able to hear owls until they developed the area more. We were on the edge of the city, there was just freeway and fields on the other side.
Now those fields are housing and commercial areas.
I really hope we have owls to listen to whenever we find our country property.
Unbelievable!!! How you get all these fabulous pictures!!
Amazing pictures!!
My favorite bird is the wren. They nest in funny places like unused roller blades and helmets.
We have barn swallows, but not at our house. We evidently don't have the right house structure for them.
You and your camera are amazing!
Lisa, your pictures of the swallows are gorgeous, love the one at the end winking! Funny! We have swallows in the barn too, two nests of babies already have flown away. The nests were made of Gilly and Pokey hair. One of the nests I had to trim the hair, Gilly's tail hair, was hanging down and I was afraid that he would pull the nest down. It was right were Gilly's butt was when he was in the barn eating so he always had bird poop on his butt. When the babies had flown off I took that nest down, hope they come back and build somewhere else; off to the side maybe?
I love seeing them, swooping down and getting bugs. They are so beautiful to watch in the evenings.
~Jane and Gilly~
We don't have barn swallows, but I did see swallows and their nests for the first time when my son and I went fishing in California the other day. They were nesting under bridges. I had sparrows in my barn and my neighbor across the street has pigeons. She chases them out of her rafters with a broom.
Swallows are so sweet!! Love them!
We have these nasty little wrens that build nests like mud daubers. They are such a mess!
beautiful captures of your little swallows...enjoyed each and every one.
hope you are having a wonderful weekend my friend.
many hugs
Those are amazing pictures! I'm so impressed. We had a Carolina finch in our barn this year. I hope she and/or some of the babies come back next year. They were so cute.
Sorry, it was a Carolina Wren.
We have 3 nests of "barn" swallows on our back porch alone, plus more on our front porch and more on the west side of the house. The three on the back have had two clutches of babies. I didn't realize that they would and after the first set took off from one of the nests, I hosed it down. There were babies in there and they all fell a great distance. Oops. I left the other two nests alone and now the babies are about to leave again. I'm gonna get out there quickly and knock at least 1 down. It's right inside my garage door to the back porch. BIG mess in the garage.
We have swallows too in the north east of Scotland. They come back in increasing numbers each year and build mud nests in the same places, under the eaves of the house. We have a barn but these seem to prefer the house! I look forward to them coming each year and it seems very quiet when they leave.
Baby birds are sooooooooo cute!!!! Personality-wise, I love ravens and crows, as they are always so independent, and can often be found ratting out the location of a predator.
We have barn swallows too.
May I say that your photography is off the charts. So IMPRESSED!
Far and away barn swallows are my favorite bird! Love the complimentary blue and orange colors! You have some amazing shots here and the winking little feller is fantastic!
There are definitely barn swallows in some parts of Canada (because I've visited places with them) although my parents don't have any near them right now. I have tree swallows in 2 of my 3 nest boxes that are really meant for bluebirds. We have lots of barn swallows in Iowa generally though. They tend to build their nests on the sides of bridges! Especially the bridges of Madison county, which I happen to live near!
We have barn swallows and I love them!
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