This year swallows made a nest quite quickly in one of our sheds. The parents dive-bombed anything which threatened their nests which included me of course, the cat, magpies and crows. They usually make quite noise when alarmed and I dash to the rescue if it's the cat but they don't appreciate it. The nestlings in the shed fledged one morning as I went to see them. First the parents flew off then one by one the nestlings flew away passing over my shoulder. The last one pooed on me as it went past.

I think they planned it.

The young swallows were fed by the parents for a week or so but now (June 28th 2006) the parents became busy building a new nest right by the front door of the house.

The shot below with flash was very lucky as feeding takes only a second or two at the very most. One of the most interesting things I discovered with the second brood is that after fledging the young returned to the nest at night and this continued for over a week.

Hirundo rustica Swallow nestlings being fed Our Porch, Cheshire 13th August 2006 Previous   Next

Hirundo rustica Swallow nestlings being fed

An out building, Cheshire 13th June 2006

Added on 19th June 2007, updated 21st Nov 2014