It's amazing how fast they grow

Barn swallow babies that is. This season, the swallows that built their nest in the garage part of our barn decided to have a second family. It's amazing how much they've grown in just six days.

I predict that they will start flying lessons tomorrow.* I sure hope they have time to get competent and grow stronger before the rigors of the migration south.

Scrawny little things on August 18th
Our babies today:
sleek little birds ready to leave the nest

*Note from Aug. 25: As predicted, they were out flying today.

© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

Our barn swallows are back

Our barn swallows are back as of this morning. The swallows interact with us a good deal, mostly telling us in no uncertain terms that they want the barn doors opened each morning. There are holes with perches that they can use, but they would rather fly in, as they have lots of mouths to feed.

Later, when the chicks are about to fledge whenever we walk by or go into the barn, we trigger loud alarm calls and get buzzed. I've felt a whoosh of air many a time as a swallow swoops by my ear.

Having the swallows in residence means we have a flock of summer pets with entertainment value. We are fond of them, but it seems there are people who hate these birds. A blogger south of the border, who describes himself as a country boy (not a cowboy or a farmer or a hayseed or a redneck, though he admits to being bit of all those), hates barn swallows. At the bottom of his list of spring things to do, there is this:

Prepare for annual battle with barn swallows by stocking up on 12-gauge shells (I've tried scarecrows, plastic snakes, sonic barriers, and cussing... and I'm finished screwing around with these birds, it is time for them to die).

Yes, it's true that these birds do make a mess in the barn with their droppings, but shooting them????

Fortunately, our ride-on lawn mower has a sun-shade which keeps the droppings off the seat. Late in the summer when the birds are gone, we clean the floor with a power washer.

Aside from that, the swallows aren't a big problem. They're just fellow residents of our little eco-system, a 10-acre spot with lots of food and water, and we're happy to share. They are voracious insectivores, swooping and diving around the lawn mower as it scares up the insects. Apparently, barn swallows are quite effective at reducing insect pest populations - definitely my kind of bird.

(For more information about barn swallows, see this site by the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.)
© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

Nestlings on the move: barn swallow babies

Every year we have four or five barn swallow pairs nesting in our small barn. We keep our gardening tools and mowers there, and as the swallow babies start leaving the nest, their parents strongly discourage us from entering the barn.

We get furious alarm calls, and Mom and Pop buzzing our heads as we try to go about our business. Early on the weekend, there were three young fledglings on the floor in the barn. When I got too close to them, I discovered that they could actually fly. Well, two did, and the third just looked very scared.

Later I came back with a long lens and took the picture above. By Sunday morning, the babies were gone. I guess they had earned their wings. This usually isn't the end of it: they tend to come back and hang around the barn roof a bit more before they really embark on their outdoor adventures.

The swallows are an annual happening here. Last year, we had a pair nesting in the garage part of the barn where the ceiling is quite low, so I was able to get pictures of them in the nest and feeding. We enjoy their antics, but we're also relieved when they've flown the coop and all the bird droppings can be cleaned up. While they're around, it's a darn good thing our riding mower has a sunroof. Otherwise, the seat would be covered in you-know-what.

The swallows are very entertaining whenever the grass is getting cut. Mowing means fast food, so they swoop and dart in an impressive display of aerial acrobatics, harvesting insects coming out of the grass to avoid the mower's path.

Barn swallow babies

Over the past couple of weeks, our barn swallow babies have learned to fly and have discovered the big world out there.

Having barn swallows around is a bit like expanding one's pet population by a dozen or two. Each morning we wake up to very clear demands to open the barn doors. When we do, a number of parents fly out and others fly in. The flights continue until dark.

Our "barn" is a drive shed which houses our mowers, garden tools, my husband's stone carving studio (off limits to the birds) and a two-car garage. Usually the swallows build their nests and lay their eggs up high near the top of barn, well away from the garage part of the building, which has a very low ceiling.

But some summers, the swallow "condos" up top get filled up fast by several nesting pairs, leaving the pair that's lowest on the totem pole to nest in the garage. This makes taking the car in and out a bit of an adventure after the babies hatch and Mom and Dad get very protective.

With a long lens and flash, I was able to take pictures of the garage swallow babies at feeding-time without upsetting them too much.

The swallow parents are tireless when feeding the little guys, and they're great fun to watch as they buzz and swoop by the nest to encourage the babies to try their wings. The little ones grow to flying stage astonishingly quickly.

We enjoy our swallow flock, but we're always relieved when we can walk by the barn without being buzzed by fly-bys - and when we can finally clean up the bird droppings.