SWALLOWS1

As soon as we had returned from the Shetlands our neighbours told us that Swallows were nesting in their new stable. Last year the Swallows nested in the roof space of their garage and we had tried some photography but the roof space was too steep and awkward to set up for reasonable photography so we were glad of another opportunity  in easier conditions. We put up the hide on a stack of sawdust bales which we thought was safe although the neighbours were not so sure! As the young had just hatched we were able to follow their progress right through to fledging.  

SWALLOW AT NEST

At first it was unclear how many young there were but eventually it became clear there were four nestlings. The adults very rarely stayed at the nest preferring to land on the rim and feed the young and then fly straight off. Occasionally the adults did try and brood the young but they never stayed more than a couple of minutes.

ADULT SWALLOW BROODING THE CHICKS

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Both adults were feeding the young but they didn't seem to like it when both of them were near the nest. If one was on the nest, and I think it was usually the female, she would not let the male feed the young until she had left the nest. Very occasionally he would land near the nest but the female was not very tolerant of him.

BOTH PARENTS AT THE NEST

Quite often when we got in the hide it was difficult to see if the four young were still there as one or two were usually at the back of the nest. The young seemed to take it in turns to be at the front and they were constantly changing positions

ADULT WITH TWO YOUNG THAT ARE STARTING TO LOOK LIKE SWALLOWS