Swallows!

ShaShaBear

We just moved into a new house, and we had starlings nesting in the attic! Nest was already there when we moved, and now babies have flown the nest (we could only watch them enter from outside, and boy could we hear them!

Hoping in the next few weeks to get into the attic and see exactly where they nested - maybe we can spy on them next year!

borderlinemeath

Time flies! The babies are growing like weeds - sticking their heads up for food, and if I make a little chirpy noise they think it's food coming so they open their mouths looking to be fed:o.

I didn't actually get this close - just a closely cropped photo!





The third nest is almost complete, they've been working very hard to get it finished.




I think she's actually nagging him in this one. Build faster!

borderlinemeath

The babies are proper little birds now, in a couple of days they'll be ready to take their first flight. As it is they're all squashed in the nest now. While I thought that all 5 eggs hatched, only 4 birds remain, I'm unsure whether there was an unhatched egg or one of the babies died early on but the remaining 4 are all fully formed.





The eggs have hatched in the other nest during the week, so I'll be hoping to see little heads popping over the side of the nest soon.

The third nest is very hard to see what's in it, there is a bird that sits in it but it's up under a wooden eaves and fairly impossible to get a mirror up to see anything inside.

Mo60

Mo60 wrote: »

Any experienced builders available?

I have swallows that come back every year to build a nest outside at the top of the roof apex. Unfortunately twice in the last couple of days the nest has fallen down, the last time a couple of hours ago. At the moment there are no swallows there, but hopefully they will return tomorrow and it will be third time lucky.

After 4 attempts they finally built the nest without it falling down and successfully reared their chicks and departed.

A couple of weeks ago more swallows arrived and took over the nest. Unfortunately, this morning the nest fell down. Inside were 5 chicks that died in the fall. :mad:

barone

ive a nest in shed also, hatched a while back, can see them peeping out when i go in shed, will stick up a pic if i can get a good one later if thats ok?

borderlinemeath

barone wrote: »

ive a nest in shed also, hatched a while back, can see them peeping out when i go in shed, will stick up a pic if i can get a good one later if thats ok?

Please do! It would be great to get more photos! The first lot started to fly during the week, so they'll soon leave the shed and the adults will most likely lay a new clutch of eggs given that their first brood was such a success.

Pretzill

gosh border your's are a lot bigger than mine - can't get a decent shot of them can only see their little beaks poking out!

borderlinemeath

Pretzill wrote: »

gosh border your's are a lot bigger than mine - can't get a decent shot of them can only see their little beaks poking out!

"Beams with pride"..:D

They started that nest first week in May and had eggs in it by mid may. The second nest they're only peeping over the side now.

barone

will need a ladder , tomorrow ill try get a good pic

barone

well ive five healthy lookin chicks , didnt get panicked when i got close,parents didnt attack ...wont be long before there flying about i reckon..