Parents feeding their chicks rarely stopping. They just pop a bug into the chicks mouth and fly away. Letting the chicks wait. When the parents get close they chirp as loud as they can for attention. The chicks are still able to fly but probably not the best bug catchers yet.
Barn swallow parents perform fly-by feedings of their fledglings on the driftwood-piled beaches of Blake Island, WA. Quite a few fledglings were perched on various pieces of driftwood and would wait for their parents to deliver insects to them, squawking and flapping their wings as their parent would approach.
These barn swallow babies had just fledged the nest, and were awaiting breakfast. The nest is located in our horse barn, and we have had barn swallows nest here for several years. The adults don’t seem to be used to us being in the barn when we feed the horses in the morning, and immediately fly out of the barn, but these three awaited patiently on the barn rafter for a parent to return to be fed.
I was attending to my horse, Summer, when I heard this incessant small whining sound in the rafters where I boarded her. I located the sound, only to find four little heads sitting there waiting for food from Mama. I positioned myself on a stool so that I could get a decent photo between the rafters and the florescent lighting and I waited. The screaming started just as Mama flew in and I snapped the photo, not sure what I would get!
I loved how her wingspan was almost embracing her clan as she delivered a morsel.
Sandy Ridge Reservation in the Gazebo.
Baby barn swallows in my friends over hang on the Agawam River in Wareham,Ma
Young Barn Swallows on July 3, 2014.
There was a mixed Barn Swallow and Cliff Swallow colony in a picnic shelter. These guys grew up between 2 Cliff Swallow nests.
There is a picnic pavilion in Fairmount Park where every year, Barn Swallows make nests and hatch their young. There are some days that the field near the pavilion seems to be alive due to all the Swallows flying around catching insects.
The Barn Swallow Quintet lives in the old hog barn in our centennial farm. My daughters greet them every morning and every night as they care for their 4-H animals. A barn cat got hold of the mother swallow, but my empathetic 11-year-old was able to rescue her. It was a good thing, because the eggs hatched the next day. Three days later, these babies popped up to chirp for their supper.
It was hard to believe there were actually EIGHT swallows in this nest. The only way to tell was to count beaks. Their hard-working parents sure had their beaks full trying to get enough food to their large brood!
These swallows created quite the stir especially when 7 open mouths awaited food from mom and pop. Several park visitors stopped to watch and I had to get a pic.
They look like a singing group, so we named them Gladys Knight and the Swallows
This year they added horse hair from a nearby corral to their nest.
This is the fifth year this pair has returned to the nest under our deck.
Every year mother barn swallow makes a nest under our 2nd story deck.
Every year Barn Swallows raise at least one nest full of babies. This was the May family of five.
This photo was taken at dusk as they were waiting for their last meal for the day.
A pair of Barn Swallows decided to make a home on our front porch. I took a picture each day of the building process…this is the final product. It became the home to 3 babies that we were able to watch being fed and learn to fly from 🙂