The arrow points to where the swallows are nesting!
Hungry young being fed
On the lookout for mum and dad
During a swimming trip with the family I noticed some stange activity among some Barn Swallows låvsvale. They appeared to be flying in under a quayside to feed young in their nests, this quay is used by a local cement works for deliveries by sea and a variety of heavy machinery is in regular use there - indeed, a fork lift and a digger were driving around there whilst we were swimming.
A trip down there in the evening with the telescope confirmed this to be the case - probably three pairs have bred under the quayside. One family was feeding recently fledged young on the quay and droppings from the nests could be seen piled up on the stones underneath.
To nest so close to the sea (albeit a relatively calm area), with vessels mooring alongside and with so much activity above the nests struck me, to put it mildly, as unusual. Perhaps this is a unique breeding locality for this species?
1 comment:
I was sitting at a pub at the quayside in Kristiansand yesterday having a beer when I noticed several swallows nesting underneath where we were sitting. I would assume that this place is quite crowded for most of the summer, and in addition it is situated next to a large marina with lots of boats passing by, so I was a bit surprised.
Apart from that, thanks for an interesting blog!
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