Baby Swallows

                                   

It's wonderful to watch baby birds grow-up!

The mom Barn swallow places a lot of time and effort into hatching her eggs. The dad helps to keep watch for any predators on the loose.

 Every year, I've had the pleasure and blessings of watching various families of Swallows grow together.

The babies learn to sit up in the nest. The babies learn to stand-up on the edge of a nest and balance. Then comes the day, the baby is no longer that infant bird anymore. The baby is a young adult that takes that courageous leap into the air to try out their wings for the first time.

 The parents stick around, helping the young adult to feed. Then comes the day when I've looked up into the air and I see various families flying and zooming through the air. They are happy and full of joy.

 Every year, we get several of the babies or parents come back to our house to rebuild a nest and start the process of raising a family all over.

 But this year has been a different year.

We've had 5 nests built around our area. Each mom of each nest has taken time and effort to sit on their eggs.

 Then one day, I found a broken egg shell on the ground. Ya-whooo! The babies were hatching. Soon as I looked up at a nest that was built close to my window, I noticed baby Swallows peeking over the nest. The mom and dad swooping in the air, grabbing hold of an insect and bringing it promptly back to the babies.

                           

Photo taken through a window of 5 baby Barn Swallows.

 Everything seemed well, until the morning of July 5, 2026. I like to get up and look out my window at the nest to see how big the babies have grown. But this morning, I saw a dead baby Swallow on the ground. The weather has been very hot and humid. Temperatures rising as high as 98 degrees f.

 During the day, I noticed another baby bird on the ground. The last remaining birds were standing of the edge of their nest. I felt nervous with a baby bird on the ground. Especially when I noticed a Thirteen-Striped Ground squirrel make a mad dash past the baby and towards its hole in the ground. One of the Swallow's parents flew after the ground squirrel. Apparently, ground squirrels will take advantage of an easy meat meal. I had wondered if that attempt was for an easy meal.

During the next 36 hours, 3 out of 5 baby birds passed away. I noticed one baby standing on the side of the nest, while another one was on the ground. I had to try and help. But how? (Note, it is usually best not to interfer with wildlife. Many times, we think wildlife parents have abandoned the young, which may not be true.)

 I read articles on why this could be happening. I thought right away it was Bird Flu. But then I read about how hot, humid weather can weaken the baby birds. Why?

The baby birds sitting high in a nest can literally bake to death in high temperatures. And so, they tend to jump out of the nest, looking for a cooler place. Unfortunately, many babies get injured when they jump. Another reason is due to Bird Mites.

 As I picked up dead baby birds with plastic bags, I noticed what seemed like 50 pin-point sized mites crawling and leaving the dead bird, like Army Ants. They had business to do, which for them was to find a new source of living blood, preferably from another bird. But blood from other sources such as humans was o.k. for a while.

During hot and humid weather, Bird Mites basically explode in population, thus possibly weakening the babies from blood and water lose. I returned to my house, only to realize I had a few Bird Mites on me!!! Sneaky and quick insects.

 I returned to help the baby bird that was on the cement patio. The baby was out in the open for predators or sun to destroy. I noticed the baby acted a bit tired, nodding off here and there.

 What could I do to make the baby comfortable?  I grabbed my fake bird's nest I had created for a baby Morning Dove years ago.

I had used two, old Wicker plate holders placed bottom to bottom (the kind you place paper plates and food on to sit at a tableless picnic.) and I sewed them together with a heavy string. So now the one plate holder creates space between the cold ground and the bird. Next, I tied the string onto a heavy metal chair to anchor it a bit. Next, I placed dried moss onto the top of the wicker.

 I went outside and placed this under the original nest on the cement patio. I also placed a plastic plant bottom full of fresh water for the baby Swallow to drink.

I picked up the baby (with a plastic bag) who had been standing about 10 feet from me. I placed the baby in the fake nest. At that time, the baby jumped out of the nest and hid in the corner on the cement.

 I left the baby alone. As I walked into my house, I realized I had like a hundred Bird Mites crawling down both of my arms to my hands. I rushed with clothes on to the shower. My shoes I had been wearing went into my garage freezer. My clothes, after getting them wet in the shower went into the washer to be promptly washed. 

How on earth did those insects get on me? The only way they could have got on me and crawling from my shoulders down to my hands was the above baby bird must have flapped its wings when I was under the nest. (If a person needs to work with a bird, I suggest wearing mosquito spray all over your exposed body and onto your clothes as well.)

During the night, we had a large storm come through. Temperatures and humidity were still high. I was anxious to look out the window to see if the baby was o.k.

The baby who had been standing up on the nest, was lying dead in front of the fake nest.

The baby who I had tried to help the day before was happily using the fake nest, cleaning it's down and feathers.          

                      

Last remaining live baby Barn Swallow out of 5 babies. The Baby bird is using my fake nest.

 

Another hot day today, so I decided to go out, pick up the dead baby, give fresh water to the live baby, and to put up something that could give the baby some shade. Thus, I placed a painting tarp up on the chair next to the fake nest area.

                

Paint tarp providing shade.

 The parents are still diligently feeding the one remaining baby. It is hard to imagine what it would feel like to lose a child, let alone 4 or 5!  I’m hoping the remaining baby keeps growing and growing really quick. As of next week, we are due for highs around 98 f. Storms keep flowing through our area as well.

               

Barn Swallow parents who have lost, so far 4/5 babies.

 

There are empty nests around our house area now. 

                      

Empty nest built on top of an inactive satelite dish.

There were baby Swallows as of late June, early July. But now we only see several mature Barn Swallows flying here and there. Barn Swallow parents without any young to share the sky with.

Typically, the sky is filled with the parents and their young flying as families, eating insects. 

But not this early summer.

 Swallows are looked upon by many people as dirty birds due to pooping on the house or on sidewalks and patios. I know of many people who do not want Swallows to nest under the eaves of their house.

Other than the mess they make, potently exploding populations of Bird Mites may also find their way into the home. Are we judging a book by it's cover?

 Other then the mess, it is a great time watching these birds and their families. Did you realize one Barn Swallow can eat up to 850 mosquitos and gnats per day! Now imagine if this family had matured. There would have been 7 mature Barn Swallows eating 5970 insects every day! The Barn Swallows always stick around all summer. So, assuming the summer is 4 months long, each month being about 30 days (September also), one family of Barn Swallows could eat 714,000 mosquitos and gnats. 

 As far as the mess, I just take out a hose and clean up the areas every day. Easy to do.

When the Swallows leave in the late summer, the nests are taken down and the areas are cleaned up.

Our area outside of our house is basically insect free!!!

Swallow parents in my observations are very loving to each other and to their children.

I, for one, am grateful that we are able to watch Swallow families love each other. They are very rewarding to watch.

I'll end this story with some heart warming photos of previous Barn Swallow families.

                 

                                        

 

                             

The story, Baby Swallows and photography by Cynthia Bergsbaken, July 7, 2026

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Disclaimer by Reiki in the Prairie LLC and Cynthia Bergsbaken copyright 2015

I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist, or medical doctor.  These articles I have written, are from reading and experiencing them.  Many of these articles are my own experiences with my own inventions to heal as well.

If you have a medical condition-physically/mentally/emotionally, please see a qualified medical doctor.  Do not substitute my articles for proper medical care.  You are too important to the world.

I have used all procedures I have written about and have found them to be helpful as tools to help myself become a better person.   I am sharing them with you because used as a tool, they are helpful in Shadow working on ourselves.  (Shadow working is healing our inner shadows that are unconscious or subconscious.  Inner shadows are our belief systems, our thoughts, our behaviors, our life experiences.)

I created this blog for my Reiki clients originally.  Combining these tools with Reiki creates a happy, healthy person.  These tools, when used alone are also beneficial!

 

 ***All original content is copyrighted by Cynthia Bergsbaken, Perceptive Blogger & Reiki in the Prairie LLC.

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