Swallows at the shooting range – Astonishing and beautiful!

Sometimes wildlife leaves me baffled. While having had the one or other 'encounter' with wildlife deep in the forests, at the sea or at high mountains, the moments that really leave me in wonder (and mostly with a smile in the face) happen at places where I don't expect them to happen.

The shooting range is one of these. For several times I've seen deer at close proximity to a shooting range that couldn't care less about the "Bamms!" and "Booms!" of the enthusiastic sport marksmen's guns. Rabbits aren't shy either; the last one I've seen at the shooting range showed some interest in the cars of the sport shooters and kept watching and watching and watching...

However, this time I was baffled as I walked by a swallow that sat on the shooting plates on which the paper targets are mounted. I made some steps back to make this photo:

At the back you can find the swallow, but at the top is what really surprised be the most: a bird's nest! Not just that it is not the only one here. But the birds set them up at the 25 meters handgun range right besides the wall that stops the bullets of pistol calibers like 9 mm and 45 ACP and by several revolvers! So, no air guns here. And still: they stay and don't panic. Wow!

These birds completely ignore the loud noises, the bullets that come at high speed straight at the wall and the sport shooters themselves and build a family and raise little children-birds. I'm glad they put a lot of faith in the marksmanship of the shooters there (and that it is impossible – from a shooter's perspective – to hit the nest). This is surely to be continued...!