A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Hobbies, Crafts and Creativity The Bird Lovers Forum Baby barn swallows

see his little beak peeking out? When I came to work today, I looked up and saw a litle birdie butt! He scooted in before I could get my camera out. I'll get more shots as they grow!!

YUp!
Told me what he thought of me for sure!

Then on 6/24


and today 6/25 theyre getting close to fledging!!

Awwww. They look like the Geico Gecko!

They are still all mouth! Like most teens.

I don't mean to be a meanie here - a bird hater or anything, but birds scare me when they dive at me - Barn Swallows. You should see me mowing the farm by the barns, I'm driving a tractor mower and waving one arm in the air screaming to keep the barn swallows from diving at me. Now, every year at this time they are trying to build nests on my garage in the front yard and I don't want them there - they can go anywhere else around the farm, just not my front yard along the garage where they can dive at people (ME!) It's a constant thing during the day, about 4 times a day I have to go outside and spray down the beginnings of their hard work to build nests with a garden hose - while screaming and spraying at hte birds diving at me!

What can I do to keep them from trying to build a nest there?

They are such cute little birds!

patty for 26 years we lived on 5 acres---complete with barn, truck shed, smoke house , cattle shed & garage. we only had the swallows in the barn---we always kept the top of the barn doors open for the swallows & most everything else closed--(although the cattle shed was always opened up)-they soon learned to buid where is was easy--& then once they build, they will return to the same spot next year. We appreciated them being around because they eat insects--ya know, like mosquitoes.

they were mad at you because you were messing with their homes (& maybe their young?)--that is what they do---

I know, that's why I try to keep ahead of them, spraying down the mud before they spend too much time on it. I'd be mad too if someone were spraying down my house as I was building it too! :( Just wondering if there is something I can hang up there or something to keep them away from that part of the house.

Sorry Patty but nothing works. They are territorial and seems to build in the same place even if you destroy the nest(in winter~when empty). We have alot of them in the barn and they can sure go in attack mode when threatened.

Going up in the loft to throw down hay has required a hard hat. They even chase after our cats.

Sis-In-law has noticed they are now building under the eaves of her house. They do eat mosquitoes though, good thing.

Patty there are deterrents you can try but barn and cliff swallows are very persistent.
There are owl decoys, a natural enemy, just move them now & then so they seem more real. If theres a way to get a radio up there, pulley maybe, and play some hard rock obnoxious booming music all day.
Holographic scare tape, pie pans..... Some stuff looks like yuck but if it stops them its worth it.
When they swoop at you it is to get you away from their nest. The barn cats too.I have a stray kitty who comes up on the deck and they swop at him so much he leaves, figures the handouts at the restaurant are safer!

Once the nest is built tho dont take them dowm. A) Theyre federally protected unless its starling ior house sparrow
b) My neighbor took a cliff swallow nest off his house late last year and there were 4 babies in there that died.

Hang a cat over the place they are trying to build a nest at.

What? Hang a CAT?

I found something that worked yesterday morning and they haven't been back since. I took some small tin pie pans and strung them from a hanger and hung it up there and they must not like the shine or the sounds or something because I haven't seen them since! Not that it's a pretty 'decoration' or anything by all means, but will take it down soon!

A friend of mine's mother called and asked if she could bring her elderly mother over to see my yard! I must be doing something right!

Yeah, get a Mission Impossible type harness and the cat can lower himself down when the birds come and raise himself back up when they leave.

They're beginning to fledge! 6/28/07

The first pic is 2 babies & 2 parents. See in the second the baby still has a white outline on his beak.

Well we're out of the nest. . . . . Now what do we do?? Bye........

Aren't they cute!

So...federally protected....did your neighbor get into trouble for destroying the nest?

no
Someone would have to turn him in. {{to who??}} And it was a mistake. And those are laws that aren't generally enforced unless ita a rare or endagered species.