Dear friends,

Once again, we are helping to raise another generation of barn swallows by leaving their nest underneath our front porch cover. The parents seemed much smaller this year than the last two, but did find the nest and within a few weeks, had laid eggs. They are fierce protectors of that nest!



Only a few weeks later, the baby swallows are out of the nest and learning to fly! They line themselves up along the window trim underneath the porch when they are resting. This year, there are four in the spring group. If we're lucky, there will be a second fall group.

And yes, the front porch floor is covered with bird poop. It's a small price to pay for these little darlings.

Dig it!

bobbi c.

Global warming and the birds....

Dear friends,

Here is an excellent article on the Audubon Society site about how global warming affects our bird populations. Those of you who have been my readers from the beginning know how much I love birds, and how much we love feeding them and watching them from our backyard garden. I knew that the climate was affecting bird migrations, but didn't know to what extent. Please read this and pass it on to other bird lovers you might know.

In the meantime, enjoy this photo of our resident Mr. & Mrs. Barn (Mud) Swallow, who have graced us with their presence above our front porch. So far, we've had three batches of babies hatched from that spot!



Dig it!

bobbi c.

New birdies!

Dear garden friends,

I'm always excited when I see a new bird around here that I've never seen before. Funny thing, we have many more birds here in town than we had "out in the country" at our previous house. We have a lot more of the domesticated types, such as the mourning doves, although we did have those, too.

Yesterday I came home and noticed that two birds were sitting on my front porch, one on the top of the window shutter and the other on the front porch light fixture. I didn't recognize them. Turns out, they are barn swallows, which apparently are a protected species in Texas. I noticed a little daub of mud in the top corner, and thought that it was a dirt dauber's nest. Nope, turns out it's the bird's nest. It's a tiny little thing, hanging off the boards.

When Husband and I came home from the store earlier, they swooped at us and tried to chase us away. I guess it's a good thing we don't get a lot of traffic on our front porch!

I don't have a photo yet, but here's a link to some great photos taken by Bobby Castlebury that shows the gorgeous colors of the birds. And here's more by photographer Greg Lasley. I'm hoping to eventually get some pics of my own to share here.

Note: Finally got a photo. It's a bad one, but you get the idea about how their nest looks, and where they put it. LOL.



dig it!

bobbi c.