Our second pair of nesting barn swallows now have their nestlings -- FIVE hungry mouths to fill! The swallows are hunting hard, storming through the stable in a figure eight flight pattern that is as fast and intricate as anything the Snowbirds perform.
On some of her passes by, the swallow just about cuts you off at the knees, so low and so fast is she travelling!
The first pair have their babies out flying, learning how to catch their own mosquitoes and insects. When everybody comes back into the barn, it's a happy, noisy place.
Until the cats show up -- there is a very distinct swallow word for CAT!!!!!! which cannot be translated in a family friendly forum. The adult birds practically strike the cat with their wings as they swoop and dive to drive them away.
Above them, crowding in the nest, with their beautiful yellow beaks held wide, our nestlings look like they are about to burst into a Broadway musical production of The Sound of Music.
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