For the third year in a row, we have barn swallows raising a brood in the arch of our front porch. We love watching them incubate and then raise the babies, and if the porch gets a little messy, well, we just get the ice scraper and scrape it off. The birds are only there for about a month, start to finish, so it's not too bad. (Besides, we never use the front door - we come in through the garage!)
Bits of egg were found on the porch on the 4th of July, so I knew the babies were hatching.
We have three nestlings.
It's hard to tell as I can't get a really good shot (the parents and a third adult swallow always circle and scream when I go outside with my camera) but the edge of the babies' beaks are outlined in yellow. It's a very comical look.
A parent swoops in with some food and plops it into a baby's mouth.
Judging by the way the babies are beginning to boldly perch on the edges of the nest, I suspect they will fledge very soon.
It's been fun watching them; I sure hope they return next year and raise another brood!
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