THE swallows' first broods have fledged and the adults are now incubating eggs for the second brood. If the weather holds, they may even squeeze in a third. In contrast to several other species, swallows usually build their nests in safe secure spaces so predators are less likely to find them.
As a result, the chicks have a relatively long fledging period of about three weeks before they leave their nests, thus allowing them valuable time to build up strength prior to their first flights.
When leaving their nests, the young continue to be fed by the adults for another two weeks. The photograph shows a male swallow feeding chicks on a rooftop and both parents will bring in food every few minutes
The adults also feed young when airborne. The two meet head on in flight at some speed and the adult transfers food in a split second before breaking away, an astonishing feat of avian aerobatics, so fascinating to watch.
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It is incredible to realize that around the end of September when the young birds are just a few weeks, old they will embark on a hazardous, 6,000-mile flight to the sunny South African reed beds where they spend our winter. Then next March, they will return to the same nest sites where they were born a year previously.
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