Time to start again. We came from here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/855350/
During my trip home to Kentucky last week, I had the chance to see a nest of barn swallows, up close.
The male is the one in flight. I know because I accidentally flushed the female off her nest and she was repeatedly dive-bombing me!
Dave
This message was edited Jun 1, 2008 2:18 PM
Here she is on her nest. Not too good a shot, but at least you can see how she used mud and straw.
Closer shot of the female.
And the male.
Here he is, just as he starts to dive-bomb me. They both did it about 25 times. They would fly straight at my head and come within a foot or so, chirp at me and then swing off. Very disconcerting when they both were doing it from different directions! I got the message, and moved away.
Dave
Nice to have got them in the same shot Dave!
Interesting also that they use grass with mud, and their nest is open compared to the House Martin's.
This pic shows one peeping out the nest, see how tiny the beak is. I don't know how they carry all that mud in such a short time with such a small beak.
Super Dave. I'm always amazed at their building expertise! I met a woman from Hong Kong yesterday who told me how valued swallow nests are - something to do with the saliva. Apparently they are kept for generations.
Resin - I looked up bachelor button/cornflower, and they are also called "blue bottle." Never knew that. Thanks for the tip!
That bird looks determined Dave!
There's another pair making a nest in the 'V' roof across the road from me, I could see them standing on the protruding thing which could be an old light but they fly in and disappear so there must be a hole in the fascia there.
This one loks to be more brown on it's wing and tail feathers.
The house is opposite my driveway so I squatted there and took a few pics.
#2
Yes, Wallaby, I felt lucky to get several of them together before I began running for my life.
There's two in this pic, one going and one flying in, in front of the white fascia boards.
LOL, glad to see the birds won, great shot!
#4 rump view
#5 side profile
Don't know how much mud they can carry, but this one shows how large their mouths are.
Lol, I think that one could fit a good dollop of mud!
#6 coming in to land
Interesting differences in their coloring. Yours have a lot more white and blue, a little like the tree swallow.
Dave
It looks like the House Martin has a smaller beak too.
#7 (last one) about to land.
Here's another shot of the nest. I've heard that they do re-use their nests from year to year and she seems to have added a new edge at the top of this one, based on the lighter colored mud used. This nest was located above a pillar at the entrance of an old church that is no longer in use. There was an older nest above the opposite pillar but there was a huge wasp nest that nearly filled the opening above that nest.
One last shot.
The House Martin's nest was 2/3 there from previous nestings too, another was close to it perhaps a foot away but something destroyed that a couple of years ago, maybe that's why they didn't nest there last year.
I imagine each 'lump' of mud in the nest is a mouthful?
This I got of one flying from the nest, you can see the remains of the other there. They now fly straight in and out without having to squeeze, must have worn it to the correct size!
The cherries in the tree behind our house are nearly ripe and the red-bellied woodpecker has begun eating them.
I saw a grackle fly in and to my surprise, the woodpecker fled, leaving the half-eaten cherry for the grackle to finish.
Evil looking fellow, this grackle.
Fabulous images, 2CDave.
My gosh that grackle does look evil! Warning you off the cherries I think Dave!
I got a slightly better pic of the Great Spotted Woodpecker yesterday while we had sun, I opened the window at the top of my stairs to get it.
Notice the foot stands have both been chewed off by squirrels, they take it off the hook every night as well as eat in the day!
Thanks for the new thread Dave...it is nice to see you back!
You and Wallably have started this thread off like a bang...some great pics here and I feel like I was just dive-bombed! Great Swallow pics by both of you!
I had a "new" visitor this morning...I was so excited that the Daddy Downy dropped this little male off to explore the back yard feeding system! The first thing he did was peck on the cattail we had up for the birds to use for nesting material! It was fun to watch!
Edited to inform that it is not necessarily a male Juvie as we won't know until they molt. Thanks for the info Resin!
This message was edited Jun 1, 2008 11:48 AM
At first I thought it was a female but upon closer inspection I could clearly see the red starting on the top of his head!
Edited to say we won't know if it is a male or female until they molt. At this stage they both have the red on top of their head! Thanks again Resin for the info!
This message was edited Jun 1, 2008 11:51 AM
One more...I'm just a little proud of this little guy...he is just sooo cute the way he is trying out everything!
Those are precious, Rose.
While I was down by the cherry tree, watching the red-bellied vs. grackle action, my bluebirds flew down and perched right in front of me, so close I could not get them both in the same frame. Their five nestlings are due to fledge tomorrow or the next day, and they are feeding them every half hour or so. I guess they were asking me to help them out with some more mealies.
Here's the female.
At first I thought it was a female but upon closer inspection I could clearly see the red starting on the top of his head!
Beautiful start with all the Swallow pics. I spent a few hours outside this morning before it got too hot, and got some bird pics. I was pleased to see a Hawk still around.
Cardinal.
Long distance shot, but the Great Crested Flycatcher is still here.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker.
Mockingbird.
Cardinal again.
Another Cardinal pic.
Blue Jay.
Turkey Vulture.
