Swallowed!

Most years about this time at the Genuine Faux Farm, the Barn Swallow chicks fledge and begin trying their hand at flying.  In another week or so, the parents will probably start looking to lay eggs again so the next batch can fledge and get their wings working before their migration south.*  It's important that we know this because we will need to get out of the habit of leaving certain doors on our outbuildings open - unless we want to host Barn Swallow nests in places we would rather not.

This year, we have a particularly large group of swallows - numbers we have not seen since the old barn fell down and stopped providing prime Barn Swallow nesting real estate.  Perhaps they've figured out safe places to be in the rubble?  I don't know, but I sure do like seeing all of the birds - especially when they wheel around and do their sky ballet.

*edit July 15 - the adults were swooping in and out of the granary this morning and the flock was no where to be seen.  Perhaps I should have written "in the next day or so."

Turn up the volume if you want to the hear the birds.  Be patient, I do zoom in about halfway so you can see them a bit better.

With the help of the Merlin app, we were encouraged to look more closely at the various swallows in these larger flocks.  Certainly, the Barn Swallows we have grown familiar with that have been swooping around the granary and the Poultry Pavilion are there with their v-shaped tails.  But they weren't the only swallows.  There were also significant numbers of Cliff Swallows too.

No, I don't know where the cliffs are that these swallows used for their nests.  

Actually, Cliff Swallows have adapted to use overpasses, bridges and culverts, according the the All About Birds site.  Anyway, we're pleased that the Merlin app identified a different call that our ears were not picking up.  After we took some time to read about Cliff Swallows, we were able to verify the presence of these birds.

Last night, Merlin let us know that there were also Northern Rough-winged Swallows in the flock.  Sure enough, after a little more exploring and observing, we could confirm that one as well.

I wonder who else we'll be able to find in this flock over the next couple of days?