A sneak peek at my resident barn swallows

I’ve been casually observing a barn swallow couple that chose to build a nest under the eave of my front porch.  As their name suggests, barn swallows are frequently found living in barns and other outer buildings, but obviously, this pair of birds preferred my home instead.  The nest is actually quite an amazing and sturdy cup-like structure, meticulously constructed from mud pellets and grass, carried bit by bit in their bills.  Once it was complete, the activity quieted down for a couple of weeks while the parents incubated their eggs. Then, the other morning, just before leaving on my trip, I was delighted to hear the hungry chirping of newborn chicks!

Barn swallows have slate blue feathers on their heads and wings and rust-colored chests.  Their tails are deeply forked and it’s said that the females are attracted to males having the longest tail streamers. They’re also insectivores, meaning they only feed on insects.  Perhaps my resident barn swallows will help to control that pesky mosquito and housefly population this summer.      

Five adorable little hatchlings waiting for their parents to return.

A couple of the chicks are getting very impatient.

Two more chicks join in.

Now we have a full chorus of hungry babies!

Mom and Dad are working very hard to keep their little family fed and happy.

Comments

[IowaCowgirl]

The photos are extraordinary. Thank you!

[michael anthamatten]

GREAT photography. I think this is such a nice set of pictures, so delightful. Lovely feeling when I look at this sweet picture.

[Mary]

You got some really good pictures! Wow...I love the one with them all resting around the edge and then with their mouths open...cute, cute, cute! When I was little, there was a swallow nest above our backdoor on the porch and every year they would move in and have babies. That nest was still there when I married and moved back to the house. Fourteen years after it was built, it was still in use. I believe it has since been knocked down.

Mary

[Christy]

Holy cow! Those photos are completely and utterly amazing! Please tell, did you photograph them yourself? If so, did you have a zoom lens?
I know you have excellent cameras, but those are unbelievable. Well done, Martha!

[Jan Erickson]

Hi Martha, How absolutely precious these baby barn swallows are. They are the cutest new additions to your farm family. I haven't had any baby birds in nests for quite a while. A few years ago, I was startled by the loud squawking of what sounded like blue jays at about midnight one night. Upon investigating, I found 2 very loud and hungry baby blue jays. There mother was no where to be found. I put them in a box and gave them some water. The next morning, I called a bird rescue lady and she took very good care of them. I hope you will post more blogs about the barn swallows. Thanks so much for sharing. Jan

[Joy]

They are so adorable. Great pictures!

[Roberta Hallin]

Hi Martha: Thank you for sharing your new brood of barn swallows.It truly is exciting to see how hard these precious birds work for their family. Their home is an architectural marvel.I truly enjoy your blogs each day. Thank you.

[erica]

What amazing photos! I love the progression of quiet to hungry & feeding!

[Linda Gail]

Martha:)
How absolutely adorable. The chick are so cute and it's amazing how wide they can open their mouths. Mom and Dad have their work cut out of themselves. Please don't let the cats get to the chick when they start learning how to fly. We recently had a couple of mocking bird chick hopping around in the front yard and I think James worried about them as much as Mom and Dad. He put them back into their nest every evening as sundown for a couple of days, until they were strong enough to fly. At least Mom ans Dad didn't attack him like they did the dogs from across the street.

[Courtney]

Wow--great photos!

[Marie]

This is too fun-nee! My gosh, look at those open beaks. So demanding - poor moms and pops! Well, can't be all that rough finding enough food with a virtual wildlife grocery store at their disposal.

[Isle Dance]

Oh. My. Gosh. Your best photos yet! :o)

[O]

These photos are adorable, Martha! In the first photo, the babies almost look like tiny mice with beaks. So sweet! I've been observing a momma & baby robin in my yard the past few weeks and taking photos when I see them in the yard. I've been able to capture momma feeding baby, momma coaxing baby to fly, baby trying out it's wings, etc.

Thanks for sharing the great photos of the barn swallow babies.

Hope you had a nice time on your trip!

[Carol Gruetter]

Dear Martha:

These pictures are incredible. We sometimes forget the importance of balance in our lives. Albeit a fab five of barn swallows, they will certainly devour some of the "bad bug" population. Every spring in California, swallows return to Mission San Juan Capistrano, an annual family event. However, I have never been close enough to see the structure of a nest. Great pictures. Thank you.

Carol in California

[Patia]

Wow! What a great bunch of pictures! How fun.

[Beth]

This is my first time responding to your posts but I have been following your blog for some time. I think you are very nice and you seem to look for the beauty in the smallest things. I take it that you love animals too. The little baby birds are so cute! What do you plan to do with the nest once the babies are big enough to fly away?

[Lisa Moroney]

Wow Martha the photos are fabulous. Hi from all of us in Tasmania Australia. We have some beautiful wildlife here, and its so nice to see some of your wildlife in America.

[Roderick]

This series of pictures is FANTASTIC.....I Vote this series to be entered into “ Audubon Society’s Photographs of the Year!”

My favourite picture of the five nestlings with their mouth open…
reminds me of those caricature Alter Boy Christmas Cards
“Oh! Come all Ye faithful…..”

Thanks for making my day!

[Maureen]

What a nice blog to see first thing this morning. I am enjoying your wonderful and amazing pictures over a cup of coffee.
Thanks for sharing these with us!

[Sally Bradley]

Dear Martha,
We too have have a nest of barn swallows on the underside of the roof of my front porch in the corner, and yes, they too just hatched. We have three and what a sturdy nest. We had robins in a large ficus, but they have already flown the nest, as they were born earlier. There is nothing like a little nature to stop you in your tracks and remind you about the important things in life.

[Susie]

Martha, you should get an award for your blog! It is interesting, educational, and simply the best!

[Alicia]

Wow! The second to last picture is quite a fun shot. This was a fun post.

[Amy T.]

Wonderful pictures! Thank you for sharing.

[Bridget]

Those are the SWEETEST pictures! Thank you for sharing! :)

[Cris Paz]

OMG!!!!! So cute!!!!