Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Coastal BC Birds: Barn Swallows Return

The nest above and plastic below.
When we arrived home at the float cabin, we were pleased to see a pair of Barn Swallows had returned this year to build a nest.

We weren't totally happy with the location outside our front door and under the porch roof, but we didn't want to disturb the the breeding pair and their recent hatchlings.

To make cleanup easier, I put plastic on the deck under the nest. Since it's right next to our picnic table, I wash it off a few times each day.

Three chicks are growing quickly.
The parents are used to our presence, so we can still eat outdoors and sit in the shade of our porch.

Last year's attempt had a disastrous end. After a week of building, the nest fell and the pair disappeared. I don't know if this is the same pair, but I hope so.

Barn Swallows build mud nests in some locations, but here it's a mixture of mud and grass.

A precarious spot for next building.

It seems they pick the most precarious spots to build their nests. This one has only a one and three-quarter inch lower support. At least the area is wide and has a substantial support on one side.

Mom and Dad both feed the chicks from dawn to dusk.

Somehow Barn Swallows are able to concoct a substance sticky enough to hold everything together, most of the time. Unfortunately, we've had a few fall over the years.

Sitting on the nest to protect the growing chicks.

Squirrels are known to attack swallow nests. A gray squirrel tried to do this week. One parent sat on the nest to protect the babies. The other chased the squirrel away until I got out the door to give him a hand.

A high flying swallow.
Based on the size of the chicks, we guess they hatched just before we arrived on July 15. One featherless baby fell out of the nest the next day. Now there are three hungry kids driving both of their parents ragged all day long bringing a steady stream of bugs.

We enjoy watching them grow and someday soon they will take to the skies like their acrobatic parents. -- Margy

42 comments:

  1. Love these charming fledglings. I love gazing at swallows and these are some very precious moments you are getting to witness, Margy.

    I'm so very happy for these swallows who are homing with us. It's good to know you are back home to your float cabin.

    Have a relaxed time. Much love and light.

    Love these charming fledglings. I love gazing at swallows and these are some very precious moments you are getting to witness, Margy.

    https://natashamusing.com/2020/07/sky-watch-and-our-pet-babies-natasha-musing-wordless-wednesday/

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    1. Thanks for hosting Wordless Wednesday. As you can see I do get wordy though. - Margy

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  2. What a swallow tail! :-)
    The nesting season can be so short. Do you think this is their 2nd brood? I think our robins did 3 broods this year.

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    1. It's hard to tell, I'm guessing it's the first and there isn't much time for another one. - Margy

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  3. There could be no finer welcoming committee for you. They can be a little messy, I know, but it is well worth putting up with that to have them around.

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  4. When I was a kid we had barn swallows in our horse barn. I was always glad to see them and never disturbed their nests. They were fun to watch fly in and out. Hope the three chicks are successful.

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    1. I would have love to have a horse barn as a kid. When a group of rent horses got away and went down our street I tried to convince my dad to put one in our garage to no avail. - Margy

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  5. Hello,
    Love the sweet swallows. It is great to see the nest so close by. Great skywatch! Take care, stay safe! Have a happy day!

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    1. We lost one on the second day, pushed out of the nest. Today on day eleven we found another one pushed out, but he was much larger and was sitting on the ground so we put him back in the nest. I think he's fine but the parents are still agitated. - Margy

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  6. That's a nice welcome home gift, and so much fun to watch! Beautiful shot of the swallow against the sky.

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    1. When I took the sky shot I didn't see the swallow until I looked at it on the computer. Just lucky. - Margy

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  7. baby birds are wonderful and you have great photos

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    1. It's fun to watch them, but now that they are older they are getting really messy. - Margy

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  8. There is a freeway on/off ramp in the town next to us where I have watched purple martin swallows swoop down and around catching insects in late afternoon. Swallows are beautiful birds and I love your photos of the bard swallows nesting. Thank you for your kind comment on my blog. Stick and Zoe do look a somewhat alike. It's so difficult when they leave us.

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    1. We had purple martins visit once and harass our tree swallows' birdhouses. They are more common in town than up here on the lake. Glad you got to see the story about Stick Tail. And now you know how he got such a strange name. - Margy

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  9. How cool is that! I can't wait til spring to see what I can find in nests :)

    It's great to see you at 'My Corner of the World' this week!

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    1. We missed all of spring staying in Bellingham for four and a half months. But we did enjoy it down there. - Margy

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  10. Margy - how this post made me smile. We have a pair of tree swallows nesting in the peak of our roof. A flicker had started pecking out a hole there, and we blocked it with a piece of tin. Well, it was enough to block the flicker but NOT the swallow. So, now, Mom and Dad are coming and going constantly, with the mess to match on our six-seater patio table. Sigh. It will wash, but it makes me hesitate to sit out there right now! Maybe it's time to put up the umbrella! Once they fledge, we will block up the hole permanently. After all, we have two nesting boxes going unused!

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    1. Flickers are common up here as well. A friend blocked the first hole with a new board, but the bird came back the following year and drilled through again. A metal cover sounds like it would work better. - Margy

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  11. How lovely to have such darling house guests.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. It is a source of daily enjoyment when we sit in our chairs on the porch. - Margy

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  12. Such adorable house guests!

    Have a great weekend, Margy!

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    1. It is. In town we get wonderful sunsets, but here at the cabin both sunrise and sunsets are blocked by hills and trees. - Margy

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  14. So nice guests, this is a happy and friendly Welcome for you and your family,
    greetings
    Kirsi

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    1. Since we are in quarantine it is nice to have company that can't get us in trouble. - Margy

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  15. Lovely Margy. I love swallows but its so difficult to photograph them as they are so swift, always high up in the air. I hope the hatch-lings grow up healthy.
    Very nice photos to go with the swallow tale :)

    Sharing a trivia I had done on the Red Rumped Swallows some years back https://travelerinmeblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/14/ttswallow/

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    1. Thanks for sharing your post. I love the song the male sings to his lady. - Margy

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  16. I would be happy to have Barn Swallows that close but I agree over the door might not be the best place. Lovely photos.
    Thanks Margy for the visit and the comment. I do not really know how the Lizard story ended I presume it eventually slimmed down and got out. I have not seen the friends since were were there when this happened. Keep well and have a good remainder to the week. Diane

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    1. That was such a funny lizard picture, but I'm sure it didn't think so at the time. - Margy

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  17. It was very nice of you to leave their nest undisturbed, most people wouldn't do that. We went kayaking recently and under every bridge we went under, there were massive amounts of swallow nests. Then the birds would swoop down on us as we went under the bridge. It was so fascinating!

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    1. The parents are very protective of their nests when the chick are growing. It must have felt a bit like the movie The Birds. - Margy

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  18. Hello,
    The Swallows are adorable birds, what a nice welcome home. Except for the mess, I hope you do not mind. Take care, stay safe! Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Enjoy your day,wishing you a happy weekend!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by again. I don't always have a critter to share, but when I do I like to let your readers know. - Margy

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  19. Thanks for sharing your barn swallows!

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  20. Great serie of barn swallow photos.

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  21. How lovely! We had a pair of swallows build a nest and stay in our car park one summer. They were a delight to watch.

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  22. adorable birds....some swallow species nests are valuable in some countries.

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  23. I'm glad you were able to go home to the float cabin. What a surprise to see the swallows nesting. It seems late in summer for babies to be born. We have a retractable awning over our patio that had a covered ledge and birds always make nests inside it in the spring. Thy ea re smart as that way they hide from the hawks!

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  24. Nice to have a welcome home committee up there in your eaves.And kudos for allowing the little family to share your space. (I cooled on a friendship once years ago because the woman hosed a swallow nest to death because she “hated the mess on her patio”. Not only was that cruel of her but also I didn’t feel like I could invite her to our home because we didn’t mind that kind of mess on ours! )

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We welcome your comments and questions. - Wayne and Margy