How a Barn Swallow Nest Became a Cliff Swallow Nest -- All on my Porch! Updated 2014

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History of the Porch Nest, from 2011 to April 2014
by Adele Barger Wilson, author of Bonding with the Barn Swallows
Click here to read about the 2014 arrival of the Barn Swallows and what happened to the nest!

This nest on my porch was originally built by Barn Swallows in the spring of 2011, as shown in the above photo on the left. This nest still exists in modified form, having been refurbished by Cliff Swallows in 2013, as shown on the photo on the right and as explained below.

During the spring of 2011, just after the nest was built, five Barn Swallow eggs were laid and hatched, and all five chicks successfully fledged in early July.

Then, during the spring of the following year, 2012, one of the male fledglings returned,* claimed the nest, and found a mate. Here is a photo of the nest as it looked in May 2012, with the new, first-year male claiming it.

The new male's mate laid five eggs. The male took turns with the female incubating the eggs in the daytime, and then spent all night keeping watch on the female while she incubated them at night. All the eggs hatched successfully, and all five hatchlings survived and successfully fledged. The below photo shows the five babies, still in the nest, as of June 17, 2012. There are many more photos of Barn Swallow hatchlings, babies, fledglings, and even juveniles, in my book.

Then, about ten days after all the babies had fledged from the nest, a whole new Barn Swallow pair claimed the nest, with four eggs being laid very soon thereafter. All four eggs hatched, and all hatchlings survived and fledged. Again, details and photos are included in my book.

This made a total of fourteen new Barn Swallows having been contributed to our local Barn Swallow population, all hatched in my porch nest! That amounts to a lot of insect control for our neighborhood.

The next year, 2013, was a year of ups and downs. That spring, a pair of Barn Swallows began preparing the nest for use, but for some reason ended up abandoning it, perhaps due to the roaming feral cats in the neighborhood who had only been kittens during the previous summer. Here is the way the nest looked on June 27, 2013, after the Barn Swallows had prepared it for their use. By that date, I hadn't seen any Barn Swallows around the nest for quite some time.

In early July, my landlord told me about a new Barn Swallow nest on the front building. The next day, I walked over to the building, discovered the nest, and observed four babies peeking their heads above it. A few days later, the nest was vacant. The below photo, taken July 6, 2013, shows one of the soon-to-be fledglings.

A few days after I first observed the Barn Swallow nest on the front building, a male CLIFF SWALLOW (!) claimed the nest on my porch and began modifying it into a typical Cliff Swallow nest. The male chose a mate and seemed to direct the nest modification activities, with his mate helping him. The male Cliff Swallow would constantly guard the nest against other Cliff Swallows who were seeking access to it. The only other bird he would allow on the nest was his chosen mate. In the photo below, you can see the male with mud on his bill, defending the nest against another Cliff Swallow. I do not think this Cliff Swallow was his mate, otherwise the male Cliff Swallow would not have exhibited such an offensive posture. (Note: All of these Cliff Swallow photos were taken through a crack in the window blinds and through the glass of the storm door, hence the relatively poor resolution.)

The pair of Cliff Swallows began adding a dome of mud to the existing Barn Swallow nest. Here is a photo of the nest modification in progress on July 8, 2013, with the pair of Cliff Swallows on the nest.

The Cliff Swallows continued adding mud and enclosed the nest, leaving only a small opening through which to enter and exit. This photo below shows the male and his chosen mate inside the completed nest.

The photo below shows a Cliff Swallow inching up the side of the completed nest, seeking access to its entrance. I do not know whether the swallow on the side of the nest was the male's mate or not. There were many Cliff Swallows climbing up the sides of the nest at that point. Often the male did not see these birds immediately. However, if and when he saw a bird seeking access and that bird was not his mate, he would peck the bird away.

Sadly, the Cliff Swallows ended up abandoning the nest about two weeks later when my landlord had arranged for a roofing person to come and investigate a leak on the roof. The roofing person put a ladder on the porch, close to the nest, and used it to climb to the roof and do the inspection. After that day, there were no signs of Cliff Swallows on, in, or near the nest. The Cliff Swallows had obviously abandoned the nest.

After the abandonment, the nest stayed intact but unused by any birds, at least for breeding purposes. Here is the way the nest looked after it was abandoned. It still appeared this way in the spring of 2014.

During the VERY COLD winter of 2013 - 2014, a pair of Carolina Wrens used the nest at night to keep warm. Now that the temps are warmer, the Wrens are no longer using the nest and are probably nesting somewhere nearby. Although I saw the Wrens at my suet feeders this past winter, I have not seen them recently. Here is the male Wren during the late afternoon of March 1, 2014, when it was still very cold, waiting for me to leave the porch so that he and his mate could enter the nest for the night.

Here is a side view of the nest the way it appeared after it was modified in July 2013 and the way it still appeared as of April 2014.

As of early April 2014, there was a pair of Tree Swallows perching on the nearby utility wire and flying high above the porch. I began to wonder if they were interested in using the porch nest. They are cavity nesters, and I have read one account of Tree Swallows entering a Cliff Swallow nest in Texas. We shall see! Here is the only photo I have been able to get so far of one of the Tree Swallows.

Click here to read about the arrival of the 2014 Barn Swallows and what happened to the nest!

*I have written a book about Barn Swallows originally building the nest in 2011, and then using it to raise the three broods of 2011 and 2012. The book explains how I determined that one of the fledglings from 2011 returned in 2012 and claimed the nest for his own. Also included are two examples of how that former fledgling of 2011, who became the new male of 2012, twice attempted to communicate with me. Shortly after the second communication, I discovered what he was trying to tell me! Over 100 photographs are included in the book, many of them of Barn Swallow babies. There are even some photos of Barn Swallow juveniles perching on the utility wire, nine days after leaving the nest. For those who are interested, the book is entitled Bonding with the Barn Swallows and is available on Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494481464/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1494481464&linkCode=as2&tag=barnswalfrie-20&linkId=JNK4O4JMGK2QOCOU

Detailed information about the Cliff Swallows and the summer of 2013 will be included in a forthcoming book. As of April 2014, I am interested as to whether and how the nest will be used this summer. If there are any new developments, I will include them in the forthcoming book, which I hope to write during November and December 2014.

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