For the Third Year, the Swallows Have Returned

So, for the third year in a row, the swallows have returned to the nest on my front porch.  Actually, I first noticed them on 4/16/18, for the first time this year.  I am so thrilled.  I am hopeful that they will successfully raise a brood of young, or perhaps, more than one.

I have patio furniture on the front porch, below where the swallows nest.  As in years past, I have upended the furniture, so the feral cats in my neighborhood do not have a good purchase to jump up to the nest.  

I am concerned that one side of the nest looks weak, but I cannot help the swallows reinforce their nest. 

I like having swallows on my front porch.

I Have Not Seen The Swallows Lately

I have enjoyed watching the swallows this summer.  The parents exhibited various emotions: dismay at the half-destroyed nest, diligence at tending the eggs, delight at the birth of the young.  I really tried not to get into their space, but watched as the young grew. 

One day, as a I sat outside in the shade, resting while I was trying to do yard work, the father swooped above me over and over again.  I think he was saying how happy he was to have his family.  I hope he was not distressed by my presence:  he did not make to attack or come to close.  His swooping was beautiful!

I have not seen the swallows swooping around lately. Tonight, there is one adult on the conduit near the nest, but the nest appears empty.  The guano pile has not expanded recently, and it is time to clean it off the porch floor.

Barn Swallows, The Nest

The barn swallow nest is looking more and more complete.  I am concerned because the mud does not look dried, which makes if more fragile, especially  if we have a major wind or rain event, which the National Weather Service says my occur tomorrow http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lub/ . My hope is the early morning weather may help the nest to dry and solidify before the storms blow in. 

I have seen the birds, and they do not look as distressed as they did the first time I saw them, after the nest was damaged.  I hope that is good news. 

Barn Swallows...Update

When I got home today, I checked the barn swallow nest.  There was fresh mud.  It was not a full half cup of a nest that I know would be most appropriate, but there was fresh mud.  And, if Mama has to lay eggs, it would probably hold them.  But, it needs to have higher walls or else eggs or babies would fall out.

I just checked, and the pair of barn swallows are perched on the conduit. They do not look as distressed as they did last night.  Again, it will not be really cold tonight, so I will not leave the porch light on. 

I hope this little family will be safe and grow happily.

Barn Swallows

This makes me sick, and I do not know what to do. 

I do not use my front porch a lot.  When Mack was alive, he and I used to sit on the front porch a lot. I would roll the TV on its cart so I could watch it, through the storm door, and read or knit. Mack enjoyed sitting in his front yard. The only time he was inappropriate with passersby was when the mailman came through. Or he was threatened by a passing dog. One mailman understood Mack.  One time, a mailman maced Mack, which made him angrier than he already was at the mailman. But mostly, he was okay with the passing traffic, even if it included dogs, as long as they were on a leash.

It is harder for me to sit on the porch with the cats. I used to bring the cat pen out to the front yard, but Sake and Haiku cried plaintively in the pen. So, that stopped. Haiku really does not care to be in the pen, and Sake likes it for an hour or so at a time. 

If I want to just read or enjoy the air, I can use the porch. But I cannot roll the TV around and watch it. If I open the windows so I can hear the TV, the cats pick at the screen on the storm door or the window opening onto the porch. But if I want to hear what is happening on the TV, I need a conduit. I cannot watch TV successfully from the porch any more.

So, I do not use the front porch a lot.  Once in a while I will sit out on the front porch. And, I will use the front porch furniture to rest in when I am doing yard work in the front yard.

Several years ago, I was using my front porch after dark, enjoying the night air, and some young men walking down the street told me they could see me if I could not see them. I took that as a warning about my safety, which is another reason I do not use the front porch like I used to.

Well, last night, late, with the windows open, as I was flossing, I heard a bird commotion on the front porch. I did not know what it was. I assumed it was birds fluttering in to eat the Nandina berries that are left from last year.

Today, I noticed a pile of bird droppings and another pile of mud and other stuff on the porch floor.

So, I went out on the porch this evening, actually to put out some mussel shells around the Nandina growing next to the porch. I looked at the mud droppings, and above, I saw a partially destroyed barn swallow nest.  There was a barn swallow pair sitting on the electric conduit from the porch light to the motion detector light for the yard.  I did not see egg shell pieces in the mud.

I do not know what happened last night, but can imagine one of the wild cats of the neighborhood used my porch furniture as a launching pad to jump up and try to destroy the nest the barn swallow pair was building, and to try to catch a bird.  Too late, tonight, I upended the furniture so there was no easy launching pad.

The birds looked like they may be in shock. What do I know.  They grasped the conduit and sat there motionless.   I was not sure if I should have the porch light on, to give them warmth, or off. It is not that cold out, and I opted for shutting off the porch light, because it might be too much heat for the birds. 

I may have unwittingly set up this scenario.  I read on line that swallows like egg shells and oyster shells. Well, I put out clam shells and mussel shells around the Nandina, when I eat mussels or stuffed clams. I have not meant to set this up, but it is what it is.

I am in hopes the barn swallows can rebuild their nest. There is a source of mud in the alley not too far away 

I will pay attention to what is happening on my front porch.