The Welcome Swallow Nesting and Feeding Young (Eight Photos)

Well it's summer down here in the southern hemisphere so the Swallows are quite active. The common species here is known as the "Welcome Swallow", Hirundo neoxena. Most of the photos below were taken at Tamar Wetlands last weekend. I took the nest shots and the feeding shot in previous summers.

In the first shot, the young ones were perched on some old branches out in the middle of the river. Mum and dad were hawking for insects and would feed the babies without even landing.

_{( All photos, videos, and text on this blog are by @mostly.nature)}

The nest in the the next two photos was built under picnic shelter.

Next is an adult bird with a very small piece of nesting material. It must be building a very small nest :-)

...and here are a couple of grumpy looking babies :-) Our summer started with cold wet weather so you'll notice they are all fluffed up. If you look closely you can see small raindrops on their feathers.

The adult in the next two shots was waiting patiently for me to exit a bird hide where it had built a nest.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider upvoting, commenting , following or resteeming. Thank you!

Parasites that Prevent Caterpillars from Taking Over the World	Australian Pelicans (The Birds With the World's Longest Bills)
Tiny Little Longicorn Beetle (Just 7mm Long)	Ants - Tasmanian Inchman (Camera Shy Ant)