In my previous post about the Barn Swallow nest, I wished that I had been able to see the young ones in the nest after they hatched. With a little patience, and prolific breeding on the part of the Barn Swallows, I got what I wished for! In late July, the same nest was in use again and on July 28 I discovered two very young nestlings.
I’ve photo newly-fledged Barn Swallows before and thought that hatchlings would look similar — not so. The two little ones weren’t bundles of cute white fluff. Or really very cute at all… but once I got over the surprise at seeing dark little masses of feathers, I remembered that most beautiful birds start out rather homely. Since it’s not for me to judge how baby birds should look, I’ll stop thinking this is one ugly baby 🙂
I don’t know the age of this young bird; Barn Swallows stay in the nest for 18 – 23 days after hatching. I will ask more advanced birders to estimate the age.
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