They're Baaack

Since we have had so much rain, I was getting worried that we would have a horrible season with mosquitoes...   I should have known better.  The barn swallows have returned!  

These are checking out the scene, trying to decide which nest to claim.

 This is a photo from last year.  This nest actually had five babies.  I love their little beaks.  They look so happy. 

Barn swallows reuse nests from previous years.  I think there were six or seven around my deck last year.   Each year I vow to remove all the nests, but I never get around to it by the time they return in the spring. Once they claim a nest, it is too late.   

The baby birds are quite adorable, but they make a horrible mess under their nests.    It is a constant effort to prevent it from accumulating.  I wonder if it would be a good fertilizer for my plants?


It is pretty exciting to have 20 or so barn swallows circling me when I mow the lawn.  I stir up the insects and the birds have a field day, swooping and buzzing around me, often very close to my head ! Thanks to them, we hardly ever have any mosquitoes.