In Gerald Durrell’s The Drunken Forest book the author describes rufous hornero nest. This unbelievable sphere has ingenious design which covers birds’ need to be protected. Durrell’s books are the real pleasure to read so do if you haven’t yet.
We’re familiar with mud houses because of swallows. And now is certainly swallows’ time. We meet them everywhere. Oh boy, they are so busy these days! They’re hurrying to build their nests as quick as possible - just like other birds around.
The other day we were riding bicycles along the coastline heading to the other city. This small piece of coast could have never attracted our attention:
But we saw something when we’d just turned toward that site before. Those were swallows. With their whirring calls they left the coast and startled, flew away. We decided to wait for some time and make the distance between that spot we’d seen them on and us bigger. We sat quietly and waited. And then!
Not just scroll down! Their tails! Do you see that aerial-like tail of barn swallow arriving? We were stunned as birds kept coming. We photographed them from that long distance in order not to disturb them. We understood that they were collecting clay to build their nests at a glance.
Birds were gathering on that small spot - and not just barn swallows but house martins as well:
They were coming from different sides:
That’s when we had a possibility to see their wonderful colours. House martins’ backs, for example, are navy blue but when in flight those birds are so fast that usually we are only able to see their silhouettes:
Isn’t it wonderful that being in need of wet soil birds eventually found that spot and start coming there? Barn swallow’s back in the photos below is iridescent blue, just as house martins’ ones, but swallow’s forehead and throat are saturated red. That’s why I really like barn swallows’ latin hame - Hirundo rustica. For me it is suggestive as I immediately imagine somebody from village, healthy, and with plumpy red cheeks.
Barn swallow is surrounded by house martins. It is bigger and as my bird guidebook informs, a bit heavier, too. I feel enchanted looking at those photos. Those fast, noisy, gracious, and elusive birds were clearly visible and while they were collecting, photographable. I almost cannot believe it:
And then they started leaving the place:
Mostly we see house martins and barn swallows in flight. We often see barn swallows sitting on power lines - they adore chatting there. In fact, all these birds feel more comfortable flying as their legs are quite weak. So it was a real miracle to see them sitting on the ground. But I felt their vulnerability as well.
My birds guide book says about barn swallows that they “can drink water from the water surface on flight”.
Here’s the video showing barn swallow:
Gerald Durrell, by the way, wrote many books about animals, insects, birds and different living creatures, he had wonderful novelist talent. I appreciate his books and I really respect and admire his long creating and protective work. I think that those novels and short stories of him partly made me who I’m now and helped in creating my views over nature and nature protection.
