It's day eleven after the eggs have hatched and the nestlings are now sitting mostly upright and are opening their eyes more and more. Mom and Dad are not spending much time at the nest anymore and are working hard to feed their hungry babies.
This is Stella and Sly's nest above our porch on Lopez Island, WA. They built their nest in the spring of 2024. We believe they are new parents and the offspring of the other pair of Barn Swallows on our property.
Barn swallows make their nests in the eaves of our home. While they can make a mess, they are also fun to have around. They eat a ton of insects, are beautiful to watch when they eat on the wing, and we can watch each brood hatch and get raised by their parents. During the summer, we will start a new stream of a nest every day. Sometimes the nests are full of activity with the feeding of nestlings and fledglings. Sometimes everyone is out of the nest enjoying the pasture and pond.
More information:
The Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) incubation phase is 13-17 days. Both the male and female take turns incubating. Once the nestlings hatch, both parents take turns feeding the young. About 18-23 after hatching, the young leave the nest. At the end of summer, the parents and their children will fly to Central America to spend the winter and return to our house in early May.