Barn Swallows - Following One Family

Fascinating little birds, barn swallows. Voracious mosquito eaters. Aerialists of the highest order. And, they are incredible parents. I have three nests on my front porch. I've watched them for several years now. Six generations from one nest alone. Thirty fledged babies, just from the "Waldorf."

In 2015, I followed one family, from claiming an existing nest, to fledging five young 'un's. I shot images almost every day. I had to intrude on their space. Had a ladder so I could see what was in the nest. All shot with my trusty Nikon, images optimized for here.

Stage is set. Props include the nest, a ladder and the porch swing. All will be heavily used in the next few weeks. Able and Echo are the leads and they'll be introducing new cast members.

This will take some tellin,' as most of my stories do. In all, I've selected just shy of one hundred images to show the entire process, from nest construction, to fledged babies hangin' out in my front yard. Five of 'em. Gorgeous little things. Well, not at first, maybe, but they clean up good in just a couple weeks. Oh, yeah...I have the dates for each shot, so it's all in sequence, almost day by day.

Let me introduce you to Able and Echo. Able is the male, on the right. They have a darker collar and chest. Echo is lighter. You'll see in the images.

First up, the real estate listing didn't really do it justice. Last tenant was messy and partied a lot.

It's move in ready, good location. Bulb removed from porch light. Nice view out the front. High enough for good security. Not a bad neighborhood. Two other families under the porch, but they stick to themselves. Close to food and water, lotta mosquitos. That's a good thing, as barn swallows eat about half their body weight in mainly 'squito's every day. Image taken 8 April.

The male barn swallow, Able, chooses the nest or nest site. Then, he'll bring Echo by for a look see. If she approves, they'll set up housekeeping, get down to the business of procreatin.' He's checkin' the place out on 8 April.

Most of the work falls to Echo to build it up. Swallows like to find existing nests and claim them. Less work. Takes about two weeks to build a nest from scratch. Half that to add on to one already built.

But...they DO remodel. Both will bring mud, grass, clumps of this 'n that, but Echo does most of the engineering and construction. Here, on the 9th of April, she's just getting started. By the time she's done, she'll likely put over a thousand little dabs of mud on her nest. And, she'll also lose about 20% of her body mass.

A firm attachment to the wall and off she goes! Echo will lay new wall until she's satisfied it's good enough for her brood. Able doesn't seem to have much say about the nest. Echo hollers at him and drives him away frequently. "More MUD," she seems to be sayin.' Between 'em, it'll take over a thousand trips to bring in the materials. They both work tirelessly. They are, indeed, busy little birds!

Echo, in the nest, and Able, are a bit miffed with me. They're not as jumpy as they were at first, but they do NOT like it when I bring up the ladder for a closer look. They holler, fly off, and orbit just off the porch, makin' it REAL clear they are NOT happy with me. They'll get better over time. Here, on the 9th of April, they're just gettin' started.

Echo is hard to please. She messed with this nest for DAYS. I knew she was almost done when she started bringin' in small white feathers. That's the last little bit of furnishings. She'll make a nice little bassinet for her babies.

Ain't she a beauty!?! Notice the lighter coloration on her chest and throat. Easiest way to tell the males and females apart. She's wondering where the hot tub is gonna go, I surmise.

I shot this in the evening, as they were beddin' down for the night. Echo will sleep in the nest, Able rests on the left side. They'll continue that sleeping arrangement for the duration of their stay.

This is the finished product, after 7 days of renovations, from the 8th of April until the 15th of April. It really is a marvel. Solid, secure to the wall, a place for Able right next to the nest. A most protected site, invisible to predators, unreachable, yet readily accessible for Able and Echo.

Now, for the Big Reveal. As of the 17th of April, everything is ready. The feathers are in place, soft and warm. Echo is spending a LOT of time just sitting on the nest. Able comes and goes, and they talk to each other constantly. We are in "wait" mode.

FIRST EGG! On the 18th of April, this is what greeted me when I climbed the ladder to check. I did a happy dance. After I got down. By the by, the average clutch of eggs for a swallow is four or five. So, I'll be checking every day to see how it goes.