We are about 1/2 hr. north of Toronto, Ontario and I just noticed a few back in the barn in the past couple days. I love them!
The two pair that I saw is now only one pair taking up residence. I worry because they seem to be partying all night long instead of nesting. The female has picked a nest and sits in it but not near long enough to be sitting on eggs:(
i had to fight the Starlings again but they gave up trying to move into the barn much sooner than last year.
I counted at least eight pair of Purple Martins. We may have to buy another house for them next year.
it puzzles me why the whole fam damily of Purple Martins comes back but the Barn Swallows don’t :(. I hope this party pair of cuties settles down, lays some eggs, and hatches them.
May 1st mine arrived in northeast Connecticut. So happy to see and hear them
Mid-Michigan, near Lansing. The swallows arrived May 1. Several birds fluttering around the barn. Heard them but did not see them today in the cold. I left the nests up this year, located so they mostly will only poop on the aisle instead of the hay. Cats can’t reach them even walking the trusses. Hope they are warm and finding enough bugs to eat.
Mine are definitely back. I saw one in the barn looking a little cold with our miserable weather. This is the third spring since the barn was built and I think the earliest I have seen them. The family is probably getting established now.
Awww so cute mht!!
Those goslings are so cute. I, too have a pair of Canadian Geese hanging around but I haven’t seen any little ones. I do have a barn full of swallows again.
(Oakville, just west of Toronto, Ontario.)
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They were later this year in southeastern PA. I saw the first ones only about 2 weeks ago. 3 of them were fighting over a nest at the top of a porch post at my side door. Didn’t see any in the barn until about 3 days after that.
Mine finally came back on May 6th. So happy. I never took down their nest from last year so will be getting buzzed in the crosswise since they nested above the lights, and we haven’t enclosed the ceiling. the parent’s don’t seem to mind but it seems a bit daunting for the babies when they learn to fly trying to get in an out of the nest. Just thrilled they are back! i just love watching them swoop across the paddocks.
Whoa! Swallows just showed up this morning at my barn in SW CT. Excited to see them! Seems late to me, but first spring here, so don’t know when they normally appear. We removed a nest over the winter with dead and mummified babies in it, so perhaps they weren’t welcome before?
This is a new one for me:
the five Barn Swallow kids should have left the nest last week. They are so huge they don’t all fit in the nest.
the female parent is nesting in another nest, sitting on a second group of eggs. I have never seen an instance where the first set of babies are still refusing to leave the nest and their mom is simultaneously sitting on eggs in a nest on the next cross beam over.
the male has mostly taken over the feeding of the fledglings. If they don’t get to flying, they won’t survive, the dumb heads----
the barn Swallow kids have always been reluctant to leave the nest but this is the first I have seen them stay to the point the parent has to lay her second eggs in a different nest.
Failure to launch is more widespread than we thought, not just amongst humans! Poor father feeding all that brood.
My first bunch are fledged.
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YAY!!! All five kids finally left the nest and it was comic to watch, lollol
the three smallest flew out first. One went straight out the barn door, discovering just how much fun flying could be. The other two smaller ones chose to flit around the barn.
then there were the two oversized kids that got more than their share of bugs when being fed. They refused to leave the nest. After much coaxing the slightly smaller of the two big kids got out of the nest.
the biggest kid just sat in the nest, no doubt happy about all the room he had to himself, and waited for the hand out that was sure to come from one of his parents. I was witness to one of the slickest bird tricks I might ever see for the rest of my days.
Big Kid was sitting in position in the nest, waiting to be fed while the other four were on a beam. When the parent flew in with food, it was given to one of the four on the beam. Before I could say “Barn Swallow”, the Big Kid flew out of the nest, lollollollol
funnier yet, Big Kid started fluttering in circles and almost collided head-on with one of the parents. Thankfully the parent moved quickly upward and a serious crash of parent and child was avoided.
it was GREAT to see a spoiled rotten “what can you do for me next” child get its come uppance in a world where we humans wouldn’t think that kind of thinking is possible.
It it was the funniest thing I’ve seen in the animal world and made getting soaking wet with sweat while mucking stalls worth every second:)
so now The Kids are flying in and out of the barn like they should be and mom Barn Swallow can give full attention to her second set of eggs!
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They are so much fun to watch eh! The swallows came again this year to the barn where I keep my horse but for some reason didn’t nest in my stall this time around 
Last year the kids were slow to leave the nest. Parents really had to coax 'em out and there were 2 that kinda held on for the longest time till they finally figured it out that the free handouts had come to an end :lol: Got to hand it to the parents though, they were really patient 
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At this point, only a few stragglers remain – there were 3 groups of recently fledged left in the barns last night. Today I saw a few overhead in the fields but the majority have definitely left… I hate this part!
I still have a few stragglers too. Three families. Babies have left the nest but all are still roosting and flying around. I’ll be sad to see them go – but can finally clean up all the poop stains.
Damn. Most of mine are gone too. We had 25 nests. Just about a dozen birds remain.
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Most of them at my barn are gone too except for some stragglers (including some babies that just recently left the nest). I will be sad to see them go
I was soo happy to hear a few stragglers tonight. Oh summer, you are too short!!
I have 1 pair with a late batch of 4 still around. A couple fledged yesterday I think the other 2 will be out of the nest today and they will soon head south following the others.
I had several nests, though I did lose about 8 almost fledglings from the first crop for unknown reasons, but quite a few others made it.
