Some of you already know of my new neighbors: a family of swallows have taken up roosting over the sliding-glass door leading to my little back-porch/balconey.
The other day, I spent some time shooting them. No, not with a BB gun. Rather with my camera.
Seems these little buggers ain't too bright. At one point, I leaned out of the door and shot straight up at the nest. About that time the pair returned and landed on the porch railing. I turned toward them, aimed and fired. I got a couple of the female, twig in her beak, before she flew to the nest for a little homemaking.
The male just hung out for awhile, waiting for his dearest to fly off for more au natural decor. When she finished, she swooped out of the nest and into the sky, with her lazy mate in pursuit.
I'll post some pics on a separate page and update this post with a link.
1 comment:
Dayaaam... that's sad.
I'd never heard of a Butcher Bird (aka shrike), so, of course, I looked it up. Not a very pleasant customer.
This is the third season these swallows (I assume it's the same pair -- or their offspring; I know nothing about swallow behavior) have set up house on my back porch.
In recent weeks, the mating pair has grown to something of a community. They've been adopted by a number of other birds, both swallows and sparrows. There are, as nearly as I can count (with them flying about like crazy-birds) 8 to 12, maybe more, other birds hanging out with the orginal pair.
The new swallows look to be of both sexes (i.e., not all males, waiting for the female to fly off to court her). They hang out en masse on the railing -- which drives my cat bonkers. He stares at them through the sliding glass door, mewing and whining, his tail twitching to beat the band. It's pretty funny. I should get a shot of him to add to the shots of the swallows -- if I ever actually post the images...
Thanks for the comment.
Post a Comment