Swallows

Its just time now too look back over what the swallows have been up to since the spring.it begins back in may , they arrive between 4th and 10th at the farm after settling in usually a couple weeks but there is no fixed time scale the male female birds pair up but as happened this year they arrived already paired up ,once they are comfortable as as pair they will start to build a nest ,they will inspect all likely places barns with open entrances are particularly favourable,they spent few weeks buoilding a nest using mud, dryed grass, mostly .this is fasinating too watch as with the speed and  how they manage to fix the material to the building is amazing

after the nest is built the first eggs are laid in the nest,after 10 - 21 days but 14 - 18 days is a more typical time scale

the picture above is from last year when they had two broods ,this year theirs only been one brood and only two young

above shows one of the adults feeding the chicks in the nest.After about three weeks the adults will entice them out of the nest .they will stay for ages around the nest weeks being nurchered by the adults until there tail feathers fully form and can feed themselves

the young bird are somtimes hard to find  when flying as the can be mistaken for house martins especially when house martins nest near by and when they start migration as has now for some of the birds. tghe young swallows have much paler colored

plumage . so this is as far as they have got this year ,it may be they will have another brood, depends if the decide to migrate early this year hope not.will post an update if that happens