I wrote last time about tree swallows, and promised a piece about barn swallows. Both species live on this farm, and both are incredible, fast-flying aerial acrobats.
The tree swallows I have observed closely nest in the eastern bluebird boxes. The barn swallows, appropriate to their name, have nests in the barns.
I went to one of the barns to try to get photos of them sitting around home territory. There was no lounging, and once they got the sense of my presence, I sensed they didn’t like it very much.
They are used to having the space to themselves. This particular barn is open to Angus cows, which prefer the outdoors, so through breeding season barn swallows have this space to themselves.
Although one did sit and seemed to give more thought as to why I might be there, the other 10 flew quickly in circles in and out of the barn, seeming to get closer to me with each flight around the barn. I could feel their distress, so I didn’t stay long. Most of the birds were in front of me, but it seemed a couple were also in the area that led to my escape. I tried bargaining by telling them if they stayed still for a few minutes, I’d leave. We managed an arrangement.
Barn swallows are the most widely distributed and abundant swallow in the world, according to birdsoftheworld.org. The site says, “The barn swallow breeds throughout most of North America and Eurasia, and overwinters in Central and South America, southern Spain, Morocco, Egypt, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, India, Indochina, Malaysia, and Australia.”
They have evolved from nesting in caves to open barns and other outbuildings, under bridges and eaves of buildings.
“In North America, this shift in nesting sites began before European settlement and was virtually complete by the mid-1900s; nowadays, the barn swallow is rarely observed nesting on natural substrates,” according to birdsoftheworld.org.
In the barn, the cup-shaped nests made of mud and grass can be in odd places such as around old light fixtures and fans, as well as on ledges. They prefer rough wood over finished wood as the mud sticks better. Perhaps the fans and electrical wire add some support.
A couple of years ago I stood out after a rain to watch the barn swallows capture insects, while also trying to get a photo in flight, without success. Imagine my surprise when one landed next me to check out a mud puddle — prime building material. I did manage a shot when it was stationary.
Like many species, including our own, barn swallows can sometimes engage in curious mating behaviour. According to Audubon.org, “Courtship involves aerial chases. On perch, mated pair sit close together, touch bills, preen each other’s feathers. Several pairs may nest in same immediate area, but does not form dense colonies like some swallows.”
Allaboutbirds.org presents a less lovely look at this bird’s breeding behaviour: “An unmated male barn swallow may kill the nestlings of a nesting pair. His actions often succeed in breaking up the pair and afford him the opportunity to mate with the female.”
When researching this article I read that when feeding their young, barn swallows fly from dawn to dusk catching food. Swallows may pick flies off the walls of the barn in bad weather, and it was very windy outside. These two bits of information make me consider if the birds were just catching bugs during my barn visit, and maybe I wasn’t bugging them.
In any case, they are fascinating and I am pleased they are nearby.
Rosaleen Egan is a freelance journalist, a storyteller, and a playwright. She blogs on her website: rosiewrites.com.
