We've had barn swallows nest around our house and garage every year. We adore having them: they are a marvel to watch fly and they eat lots of bugs! Last year, they chose to nest in our garage in the peak of the roof; in the heat of July it was just too hot in our uninsulated garage and some of the babies didn't make it. On their return this year, we made sure the garage was always closed up so that they couldn't access it. So they've been dithering around, trying to decide where to nest! They've been back over two weeks, and still no apparent nest. They tried on a plug-in in the roof of the breezeway but because it controls the little water feature we knew we needed access so Farmer Man taped it off. They've been sitting on the porch light, right beside the front door. We could live with that, although it might be a little crazy with them and us coming and going on a regular basis. There is a swallow perch at the back of the breeze way that they have used before, but they don't seem interested this year. They've got to decide pretty quickly - Mother Nature must be calling!
I was very excited to find swallows building a nest outside our backdoor this year. I told my husband, about all the bugs they would eat, never mind the entertainment value. I was less excited to arrive at my house on Saturday to find two dead baby birds on the ground at my door. And no sound or mother on the nest anymore. I guess they just had the two.
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