Once again the Starlings have made a nest in the rafters of the barn taking over an old Barnswallows nest.
I haven’t seen any birds in it, but it’s such a messy thing hanging like an unwashed beard on an old man’s face. I see hay, leaves feathers, scraps of bailing twine, and I’m not sure what that touch of blue is up top, but it could easily be a fabric scrap that escaped from my studio.
I guess I’m messy too. I’m always trailing loose threads and strands of fabric around the farm.
The barn swallows are much tidier. Their mud nests are like little clay pots reinforced with grass and hay.
The nest in this picture is the same one that was lined with feathers last year. They do this for insulation, and also to help hide the eggs.
Maybe this barn swallow is trying to trick the starlings into thinking the nest has already been taken over. I didn’t get too close, but it looks like there’s a broken eggshell attached to one of the feathers sticking out of the nest.
I haven’t seen any baby birds yet, but I’ll know they’re there when I start to see bird poop on the barn floor under the nests. There are five Barn swallows nests in the barn this year.
Your trail of loose threads and fabrics likely make great nesting materials…with a splash of pizazz!
Ha! Maybe that’s factor in the amount of nesting birds we have here Barb. It’s like the home depot of nest building.
“Hanging like an unwashed beard on an old man’s face”. What an evocative and poetic expression.
It was so beard-like Lois. Now, this morning, the next is gone. All that is left is the old barn swallows nest. Not a trace of the other even on the ground. The donkeys must have eaten it!