Birds and Nature

Young Barn Swallows make it easy for parents to 'hit the target' in feeding them as they open their beaks wide when any adult swallow comes near. The parents (both parents feed fledglings) will feed them from 2 to 7 days after they fledge from the nest and they have to make many trips to fill these hungry young birds' bellies. So the parent bird is off again to find some delectable insect for it's young.SeEtta

I saw this intrepid Barn Swallow and her nestlings under a window at Denny's Restaurant in Canon City, CO. Fortunately she wasn't dive bombing the patrons using the door that was only about 20 feet from her nest. SeEtta

These Barn Swallows have already fledged from their nest, but the young of the species is led back to the nest by the parents to spend the night for several nights after they fledge. They are so large, basically adult size (though their tails are shorter than on adults), they barely fit back in the nest. The bottom pic shows the empty nest with all the feathers that the parents collected to make a soft nest lining. SeEtta

I just found this pic I took of the Barn Swallow nestlings earlier than those I took and posted a yesterday. Though the nestling in this pic is only 4 days younger than the one posted on , it appears clearly younger--demonstration of what a difference a few days makes with the development of nestlings. The tall feathers on the right side of the nest do not belong to the nestlings. The mother swallow lines the nest with feathers she finds. SeEtta

Barn Swallows often nest near doorways and on porches but the ones that nest on my friend's property (none nest in my yard) nest under a footbridge (same one where the Black Phoebes nest but located where they can fly through). So photos are more of a challenge, requiring laying on one's belly and bending at the waist to overhang the bridge in order to see and photograph the nest. I took these pics this morning. Though only one nestling is visible, I was able to see at least 3 birds in the nest. These nestlings are near to fledging. SeEtta