June 17, 2009

A Colony Grows


Remember the swallow nest on our back porch? The nest seemed to be complete by June 3, but we didn't see any action for awhile.
On June 12, we first saw Mama in it, giving me a wary stare whenever I opened the door. (Birds of Utah Field Guide, by Stan Tekiela, says the female incubates the eggs.) We can't peek inside because the nest is so close to the ceiling, but there should be 4-5 eggs, white with brown markings, and incubation is 13-17 days.
One morning I sat outside and observed, trying to figure out what kind of swallows we have.

Barn swallows, I think.

They have a long notched tail, a lot of orange on head and breast, and a bluish coloring on their backs.

Strangely enough, at one point I saw three adult birds flying around at once. Besides mom and dad, another bird may be checking out the area for nesting. Maybe we'll soon have an entire swallow colony on our porch wall.

17 comments:

  1. Hi Janie, Those swallows have beautiful coloring. I sometimes see birds flying in the distance that could be swallows, but I have no idea what kind. How wonderful that you have some nesting on your porch.

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  2. ...how cute! I wish a pair would nest on my porch, but so far they never do. You're lucky! I love watching swallows fly around chasing after bugs...
    Thanks for dropping by!

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  3. How delightful to watch the nest. Hope you see the little ones soon.

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  4. Those are some good flying shots you got! I'm jealous, my camera doesn't take very clear action shots.

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  5. Well---I have no idea what kind of swallows they are---but I'm so glad they are nesting near you You are so lucky!!!! Keep us posted.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  6. Nice photos! I've tried taking pictures of those guys and I get more blur than photograph. Yours look like the barn swallows that lived in our barn. Our dog took it on as his job to clear them off the electrical lines that stretched across the barnyard with lots of barking and jumping. They pretty much ignored him.

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  7. that is very interesting! we have plenty of birds in my yard but i don't know their names other than rainbow lorikeets.

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  8. They look like barn swallows to me, too, and it looks like a barn swallow nest. If you're lucky, they'll come back every year.

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  9. The birds are taking over! But it looks like you have room to spare ... and share. Plus, they are fun to watch ... and also eat insects. It's a win win ...

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  10. You got some great pictures of your swallows. I look forward to updates on the nest.

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  11. Janie, these are wonderful captures. The last photo is remarkable, you must have remarkable patience.
    Smiles

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  12. I love swallows! You caught some wonderful pictures!!

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  13. Great pictures of the birds in flight. I find that very hard to do myself.

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  14. Barn Swallows they are, so colourful and graceful. Great flight picture. They move so fast it is hard to get them in the air.

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  15. Very interesting. You did ID them correctly. We had a similar nest on the porch but Mrs. T took exception to the droppings. :(

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  16. They look to be the same type of barn swallows we have here. They nest (or try to) on our front porch every summer. Hubby nipped it in the bud a few days ago, before they could get the nest built up. (The bird poop does make quite a mess!) But when they manage to get the nest built before he or I notices, then I make sure they are allowed to stay until the babies are hatched!

    I love watching them fly, such a neat flying pattern! ;)

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