Week 25, Extra: Barn Swallows in a…Barn

Friday morning was grey and drizzling. The perfect weather, thought I, for standing inside to observe and film nature. I’d learned from Liz Warriner (a member of the Trust’s hard working Conservation Volunteer team) that a pair of Swallows were raising a brood in the roof beams of The Old Barn at Westbrook Hay. Liz had taken some lovely photographs and I was keen to join her in getting a record of this species breeding on Trust land.

The video footage opens with a view of The Old Barn and a parent Swallow swooping in...and then out (easy to miss!). The penultimate clip, from a distance, shows a parent collecting the fecal sack from a nestling and carrying it away. (I should have known that as soon as I changed lenses to film the wide angle view, the action at the nest would get more interesting. Of course, neither parent repeated the behaviour once I’d reverted back to filming close up. C’est la vie).



It is probably just a matter of days before they fledge. Such fantastic little birds to observe and to enjoy at close quarters. It is impossible not to be impressed by those wonderful tail streamers and long, sleek, super-athletic wings. Over the coming weeks, the birds will build up weight and strength and then head off on their marathon migration to South Africa.