Barn Swallow Fledglings

These adorable little faces are the recent fledglings of some resident Barn Swallows. We've been watching the busy parents carrying food back and forth for several weeks now. Yesterday was the first day I actually was able to see the babies. All four of them were sitting at the edge of the nest. We actually laughed at their expressions. The one on the far left must be the outcast, the one in the middle of the three is the ring leader, just look at that face, he looks like he is daring anyone to come near. The one at the far right has the cutest little slant to his head and such mean look, it is almost as if he is saying "Hey, whatchoo lookin at!!" I was able to take two pictures before all four of them left the nest and flew away, much to the irritation of their parents I may add. As soon as they took flight the parents frantically followed, only problem was with four babies heading in four directions and only two parents they didn't know which offspring to follow. What made the whole situation even funnier was the fact that at the exact moment they chose to leave the safety of the nest we had storms rolling in. So high winds were hitting us, and those birds. The wind caught them and sent them flying (Pun intended!). Flapping was going to do them absolutely no good, the wind was simply too strong, they had no choice but to go where the wind took them. I can imagine their thoughts at the time. "What the Heck did we just do" or perhaps "MOMMMMMMY"
Barn Swallows have long been a favorite of mine they are so pretty with their iridscent blue back feathers and those rusty colored breasts. They consume untold amounts of insects. They aren't beyond attacking our wayward cat when she gets too close to the nest. Which makes for some interesting entertainment. Each year they build a nest on the back of the house above our dining room window. We also have another family that build on the front of the house above another window. My husband gets completely irritated when they chose the front of the house for their nest. So the rule is.....no eggs and the nest can come down....eggs and it stays! So he made sure this spring to knock it down as soon as nest buidling started. This prompted them to head to the barn and to the back of the house. I am so very glad to see all four babies healthy and ready for flight. Soon egg laying will begin again and we will have a second batch of babies to enjoy. Usually by the end of summer we have as many as 20 of these lovely birds showing off their aerial acrobatics in our yard. With any luck this year will prove to be the same.