Barn Swallow (WA)
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Cam began sending images on May 29th.
| Species: Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) Location: Woodland Park Zoo, WA Status: Five Barn Swallows fledged June 24th! View comments View donor list |
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Jun 24 - A beautiful pic of one
of the swallow chicks exercising its wings. The chicks have been on and
off the nest all day. They may be very close to their final fledging. |
 
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Jun 22 - Here we can see four
out of five of these fully feathered nestlings still in the nest. It
appears as if the first of them has already taken the plunge. |
 
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Jun 18 - Although these 15-day
old nestlings are capable of short flights, they will remain in the
nest for up to another week before fledging. |
 
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Jun 16 - The young are 14 days
old and will spend time perching on the rim of the nest. They are now
fully feathered and taking on the appearance of Barn Swallows. |
 
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Jun. 15 - At nearly two weeks, the young birds are often seen stretching their wings and preening their feathers. |
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Jun. 13 - The 11-day old nestlings are nearly
fully feathered. The beautiful bluish irridescent coloration is starting to become
evident on their head and they will begin flapping their wings. |
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Jun.
12 - The nestlings eyes are likely fully opened by now, and they should
be able to control their own body temperatures (thermoregulate). |
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Jun.
11 - Both parents share the feeding duties fairly equally, although it
is the female who spends most of the nights with her young while the
male roosts elsewhere. |
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Jun. 9 - The nestlings are now one week old, and in the midst of their fastest growth spurt. |
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Jun. 8 - 99% of the food consumed by Barn Swallows consists of flying insects. |
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Jun. 7 - Four out of five nestlings prefer food over sleep! |
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Jun. 6 - When they are
this young, the best way to get an accurate count of them is by
counting their beaks. It appears they are all accounted for. |
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Jun. 5 - At three days old, the eyes of these nestlings are still closed, it will be a few more days before they open. |
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Jun. 4 - An interesting shot of a silhouette of a Barn Swallow in flight, looking out over the ledge of the nest. |
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Jun. 2 & 3 - HATCHING DAY!!! It looks as though the last chick has broken out of its shell! |
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The arrow is pointing to what we believe to be the fourth egg shell. |
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One of the parents appears to be holding an egg shell in their beak. |
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It looks like the second chick has emerged from its shell! |
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First crack! A parent stands guard as the first egg cracks open. |
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Jun.
1 - A clear shot of the five creamy white eggs, speckled with red,
brown, or purplish spots. The incubation period for Barn Swallows is
two weeks. |
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May 31 - The female is currently incubating five eggs due to hatch
early June. In the evening she spends nearly every minute on the nest,
rotating the eggs and preening herself, but rarely resting. |