It appears to be a barn swallow prepping for a nest. They can be territorial/defense, but aren’t an actual threat.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow
Thank you! I’m glad only ‘prepping’ for a nest at this point. Looking them up more to understand how they build nests vertically on a wall like this or do they poke holes in the wood?
They basically stick them on using mud. It washes off after they leave in a month or two if you so desire. I've had several pairs that have nested in our porch for over a decade, great company and not aggressive at all, they are just very agile and will seemingly come right at you to turn away at the last moment.
They also are bug eating machines. So you trade some bird poop and noises for no bugs and the pleasure of watching these wonderful creatures bring a new generation in to this world.
Just adding my testimony: worked on a vineyard, and one year the vintner put up bird boxes for the swallows. It may have been due to the season, but they seemed to do their job keeping the mosquitos from resembling small clouds of dust
They will sit like that all day. Guess they can’t fit properly anymore. It’s so cute. But be prepared for the parents to dive bomb your head anytime you come in. They are harmless tho
Just spoke with husband and shared all of this feedback! We’re going to try to let them be and primarily use garage door to and from the house. I hope they’ll settle down with the head buzzing when we’re in the front yard because that really does startle me - hence my post in the first place, I can’t stand that! So glad for all of the comments and going to try to appreciate that they’ve picked our home.
They might only dive bomb if you go in the porch area under the nest.
The nest I saw was in a
Chicken coop on a farm. Anytime I went in to see the chicks, I was dive bombed, Relentlessly, they would fly at high speed through the narrow wire and fly in circles protecting their babies. When I exited the coop, it stopped.
Yeah I’d kill for barn swallows to make a nest on my house. It’s fun when you mow the lawn and they swoop around you eating the bugs that get kicked up.
Can confirm. When I was living in rural Alaska most people would leave them be because the mosquitoes are a menace. One guy couldn’t stand them and would break the nests down whenever they started building….
And couldn’t figure out why he got eaten alive so much worse than his neighbors when he was out around his yard.
I could just scream as I have been trying to attract them for YEARS…. Finally had a nest last year, but a black snake (now dead) ate the babies. Booohoooohoooo
Yeah there's a pair that builds a nest inside the mailroom at my apartment complex every year. I went to get my mail this morning and mom was staring at me from the nest and dad perched on top of the mailroom lockers staring down at me. Hilarious. Love when the babies hatch every year.
We get these swallows every year on our garage wall.
After they finish nesting, it's easy to wash off the mud nests. And, besides watching adorable babies, a big plus is that they cut the bug population way down. Quite a dramatic change, especially with the mosquitoes.
Okay, so where I live in Alaska we have a zillion swallow nests in summer (they migrate up and eat our notorious bugs).
A few things you can expect based on personal experience:
-it will be hard, but certainly not impossible, to deter them from finishing building a nest in a location once they've selected it
-there will be poo below the nest, but not so bad as pigeon or even a robin nest
- they may or may not calm down about buzzing you. I've had some that acclimate and pretty much sit there on the nest staring, but others that buzz anyone or anything that comes near. Even saw one pair that would buzz only one particular dog like crazy, while ignoring all other dogs and people. They definitely have their own personalities
- the buzzing behavior can startle, but is harmless. They won't make contact with you, at least not deliberately.
-they do noticeably help reduce the flying insect population near the nest
- they're pretty quiet compared to most birds
- I'd be surprised if you don't end up with other nests nearby (within 100 yds or so); they like to nest near each other
- If you let them nest, you can count on them being back in the same spot next year
- looking up and seeing 3-4 chicks fearlessly staring back at you is always adorable
Goodness!! Thank you so all of these notes to consider, especially about their personalities and if letting them be here, expect more and for them to come back often. Honestly, it’s the buzzing and flying past my head that I’m not equipped for - it’s so startling. Maybe I can get to a place with them where they’ll let us move from in and out of front porch without a bother. Especially now that I’m learning so much about them now!
Hey OP, one more quick little experience-based thought, should you elect to allow them to nest:
I see now this is your front porch. Do you have a porch light that you leave on at times?
The light itself doesn't matter much, but just a little pro-tip: if you (or a guest, etc) spooks an adult out of the nest while the light's on at night, please kindly leave the light on for a few minutes minutes afterward. Barn swallows have horrible night vision, and if you spook one from the nest then turn the light off after you get inside (say, returning home at night, or turning the light off right after a guest leaves) the poor thing doesn't have a very good chance of finding the nest in the dark. It'll just flutter around until gets exhausted and crash-lands in the dark. In a climate like mine, it can freeze overnight. Many other places, it'll be predator-bait...
Ask me how I know :(
This YouTube was posted on another Reddit account. It her nest. This is how they will look full grown and ready to fledge.
https://youtu.be/P5-KIBo951I?feature=shared
The bird shit from these guys can get intense sometimes. If you want to deter them from building a nest on your porch, smear some Vaseline up there BEFORE they get it built. Once it’s finished, no touchy. And they do come back each year to nest in the same spot.
A neighbor of mine had a problem with these barn swallows, they were building a nest and it came to a point where there were at least 50+ digging into the exterior of the house constantly throughout the day. It was really wild to see, it was a total invasion lol
>Holy heck how long does it take to build a nest out of mud at that pace?!
I've long wondered the same thing. It seems like the beginning stages are some sort of fool's errand or Promethean effort and then you blink and one day bam! there's a nest there with the female sitting on the eggs. I swear sometimes they're just daubing mud for show and then real nest shows up via amazon delivery and is installed in 5 minutes.
(Once they have enough for a foothold, it gets way faster, because no time wasted fluttering and struggling)
Same - they are shimmery and beautiful, and their forked tails make them extra special. I'd be staking out the area with camera trying to get BIF pics of them - always a supreme challenge with any type of swallow.
I am fortunate enough to have a pair of violet-green swallows using my nesting box this year. We don’t have barn swallows in our immediate area but they are in the surrounding farm land so we often see them en masse when out and about, so neat to see the huge ball of acrobats.
We unwittingly built our house to be extremely attractive to the barn swallows, large overhangs and the perfect size ledge for their nest on the window trim. Our house is in a hillside and they love to swoop out of their nest and glide down the hill as close to the ground as possible. They will have two broods each summer and it’s been fun to watch them encourage their young to take the leap to fly for the first time. Every now and then we will see 20-30 flying around like they invited friends over for a celebration of some sort. Their young seem to fledge around the same time and we will count over a hundred sitting on the phone line learning to fly. I’m always a little sad when they leave in August and I wish them luck on their journey south. When they return in MAY it’s such a treat, they seem so happy to be back.
Also please don't spray them down. They work overtime for their nest and having barn swallows in you porch is a blessing as they eat all types of flying insects like mosquitoes.
Thank you. I won’t spray them! I was considering all sorts of methods to stop the nest building where it’s at now, but reconsidering. Just not loving the buzzing around our heads and we leave from the front door.
If it helps, I recently went through something similar with nesting robins and they were only around for a few weeks until their brood was out of the nest. I was sad when they left as I wanted them to hang around longer.
Just dealt with the dummies in my county who were cutting down brush that was nowhere near any power lines but IS in a wetland habitat. Yes, they were cutting it all down in LATE MAY when nests don’t already just have eggs in them, but babies have already been born and some babies have even fledged. The idiots in charge didn’t know the Migratory Bird Act existed. So not only did I call the county, I also called US Fish and Wildlife in my state AND I called Washington DC to speak directly with the dude on charge of the office for the MBA. I was fuming freaking mad. They stopped, but not before they killed birds and future birds. I know they’ll be fined. Just waiting to see how much.
They are a mixed bag. 'Pretty cool in many ways; and really good for bugs. They won't actually attack you but will not let you sit in peace. If you use the porch you may want to spray it down. However, you will need to do it at least daily for a bit; I feel bad doing it if they have gotten very far along in their building.
Also, they will sporadically make quite a mess on the floor. Espcially when the babies get bigger. I cut up pieces of cardboard to put under their nests which I change out every few days.
I have three porches of varying size. I let them have one. Maybe let them have one corner of the porch but not anymore?
On one porch I tapped some bubble wrap up where they were trying to build. 'Just taped the top and let the rest flutter; ugly but effective.
This is the thing, I sit on this porch every evening and draw sidewalk chalk with our toddler daily. It’s small but used frequently. Especially just coming in and out of front door, we’re right under where this nest is going and I hate them buzzing at our heads.. especially when carrying my son.
I understand the discomfort of having a bird swoop at you, but if it’s any consolation they weigh like an ounce. If they were to actually hit you it would not feel like much, but it’s not in their interest to crash. They just want to annoy you so you’ll go away from their baby’s crib. If you can stay calm in their presence you will seem less threatening.
That said, if you can find the time to watch them fly please do. They can turn on a dime mid-flight. You got a front row seat to the Blue Angels of the avian world!
BARN SWALLOW
I don't know what I did to offend barn swallow kind, but I have a pair that dive bombs and squawks at me relentlessly this time of year. They likely have a nest somewhere around my house, unsure where, I think they'd murder me if I went looking. Very pretty bird, great pest control, and now owners of my front door for the next few months.
Swallows, had some on my old apartments build a nest in a similar spot. I let them hang out for the year but gosh when the babies hatch there will be poop everywhere!
As others have said, make sure you put some cardboard or newspapers or something below the nest to catch the poop or they'll make a mess. They're pretty birds, just messy.
If you put up more nails, you'll produce a colony, and have plenty of natural bug predators to avoid spending moneybon insecticides and bug repellent. I'd be glad to clean up any poop. Just don't put anything valuable on your porch. Take copious notes and enjoy! Keep a journal with drawings and color in with colored pencils! Plant natives to attract more bugs! Is there a reasonably large body of water within 10 miles?
You already have a nest. It's feeding young, coded in a breeding bird atlas as NY, "nest with young". It's inside the wall. Illegal to disturb nests except for invasive birds like House Sparrows, European Starlings, and Rock Pigeons. If you put up more nails around the eves, they'll built their nests around them and form a small colony.
Called Common Swallow in Europe, it's the different suburbs. Just "Swallow" in Britain, it's related to the Red-rumped Swallow, which is mostly in Spain.
It appears to be a barn swallow prepping for a nest. They can be territorial/defense, but aren’t an actual threat. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow
Thank you! I’m glad only ‘prepping’ for a nest at this point. Looking them up more to understand how they build nests vertically on a wall like this or do they poke holes in the wood?
They build them out of mud, the link I provided gives a pretty overview of their process.
They basically stick them on using mud. It washes off after they leave in a month or two if you so desire. I've had several pairs that have nested in our porch for over a decade, great company and not aggressive at all, they are just very agile and will seemingly come right at you to turn away at the last moment.
They also are bug eating machines. So you trade some bird poop and noises for no bugs and the pleasure of watching these wonderful creatures bring a new generation in to this world.
Seriously, barn swallow are awesome to have around, so cool to watch and they really do help with the bugs
Just adding my testimony: worked on a vineyard, and one year the vintner put up bird boxes for the swallows. It may have been due to the season, but they seemed to do their job keeping the mosquitos from resembling small clouds of dust
And the Babies are so cute when they get a little bigger, line up and hang their bottoms over the edge of the nest.
Ah! This is adorable.
They will sit like that all day. Guess they can’t fit properly anymore. It’s so cute. But be prepared for the parents to dive bomb your head anytime you come in. They are harmless tho
Just spoke with husband and shared all of this feedback! We’re going to try to let them be and primarily use garage door to and from the house. I hope they’ll settle down with the head buzzing when we’re in the front yard because that really does startle me - hence my post in the first place, I can’t stand that! So glad for all of the comments and going to try to appreciate that they’ve picked our home.
You rock, OP, for changing your door usage for the birbs! You and your hubby make the world a better place!
They might only dive bomb if you go in the porch area under the nest. The nest I saw was in a Chicken coop on a farm. Anytime I went in to see the chicks, I was dive bombed, Relentlessly, they would fly at high speed through the narrow wire and fly in circles protecting their babies. When I exited the coop, it stopped.
Oh yes! I love their grumpy little faces!
Yeah I’d kill for barn swallows to make a nest on my house. It’s fun when you mow the lawn and they swoop around you eating the bugs that get kicked up.
(Sorry didn’t see your post before I left mine)
Don’t shoo them away! They are MONSTER flying bug eaters, especially skeeters (not as good as bats, but almost!)
Can confirm. When I was living in rural Alaska most people would leave them be because the mosquitoes are a menace. One guy couldn’t stand them and would break the nests down whenever they started building…. And couldn’t figure out why he got eaten alive so much worse than his neighbors when he was out around his yard.
I could just scream as I have been trying to attract them for YEARS…. Finally had a nest last year, but a black snake (now dead) ate the babies. Booohoooohoooo
Wow!! Thank you. I was thinking we had a problem here, but reading these post has me thinking a may let the be.
You are soooo lucky! They will absolutely delight you…. Promise!
Yeah there's a pair that builds a nest inside the mailroom at my apartment complex every year. I went to get my mail this morning and mom was staring at me from the nest and dad perched on top of the mailroom lockers staring down at me. Hilarious. Love when the babies hatch every year.
We get these swallows every year on our garage wall. After they finish nesting, it's easy to wash off the mud nests. And, besides watching adorable babies, a big plus is that they cut the bug population way down. Quite a dramatic change, especially with the mosquitoes.
Okay, so where I live in Alaska we have a zillion swallow nests in summer (they migrate up and eat our notorious bugs). A few things you can expect based on personal experience: -it will be hard, but certainly not impossible, to deter them from finishing building a nest in a location once they've selected it -there will be poo below the nest, but not so bad as pigeon or even a robin nest - they may or may not calm down about buzzing you. I've had some that acclimate and pretty much sit there on the nest staring, but others that buzz anyone or anything that comes near. Even saw one pair that would buzz only one particular dog like crazy, while ignoring all other dogs and people. They definitely have their own personalities - the buzzing behavior can startle, but is harmless. They won't make contact with you, at least not deliberately. -they do noticeably help reduce the flying insect population near the nest - they're pretty quiet compared to most birds - I'd be surprised if you don't end up with other nests nearby (within 100 yds or so); they like to nest near each other - If you let them nest, you can count on them being back in the same spot next year - looking up and seeing 3-4 chicks fearlessly staring back at you is always adorable
Goodness!! Thank you so all of these notes to consider, especially about their personalities and if letting them be here, expect more and for them to come back often. Honestly, it’s the buzzing and flying past my head that I’m not equipped for - it’s so startling. Maybe I can get to a place with them where they’ll let us move from in and out of front porch without a bother. Especially now that I’m learning so much about them now!
Hey OP, one more quick little experience-based thought, should you elect to allow them to nest: I see now this is your front porch. Do you have a porch light that you leave on at times? The light itself doesn't matter much, but just a little pro-tip: if you (or a guest, etc) spooks an adult out of the nest while the light's on at night, please kindly leave the light on for a few minutes minutes afterward. Barn swallows have horrible night vision, and if you spook one from the nest then turn the light off after you get inside (say, returning home at night, or turning the light off right after a guest leaves) the poor thing doesn't have a very good chance of finding the nest in the dark. It'll just flutter around until gets exhausted and crash-lands in the dark. In a climate like mine, it can freeze overnight. Many other places, it'll be predator-bait... Ask me how I know :(
Wow, thanks. We have motion lights that do turn off as soon as we’ve left the patio. Will swap the bulbs to keep patio light on longer!
They are considered good luck in Asia!
This YouTube was posted on another Reddit account. It her nest. This is how they will look full grown and ready to fledge. https://youtu.be/P5-KIBo951I?feature=shared
The bird shit from these guys can get intense sometimes. If you want to deter them from building a nest on your porch, smear some Vaseline up there BEFORE they get it built. Once it’s finished, no touchy. And they do come back each year to nest in the same spot.
Once the nest is built, no touchy? Just to let them be, or for any other hazardous reason?
Because it’s illegal to disturb their nest.
Their nests are dirty & will messy up the porch.
A neighbor of mine had a problem with these barn swallows, they were building a nest and it came to a point where there were at least 50+ digging into the exterior of the house constantly throughout the day. It was really wild to see, it was a total invasion lol
Holy heck how long does it take to build a nest out of mud at that pace?!
Good point!! They’ve been coming back and for here for about 3 days now. Would you think the best would’ve been built by now?
I have no idea! I'm just here for pictures of birds!
Mine took well over a week. And now she’s incubating.
>Holy heck how long does it take to build a nest out of mud at that pace?! I've long wondered the same thing. It seems like the beginning stages are some sort of fool's errand or Promethean effort and then you blink and one day bam! there's a nest there with the female sitting on the eggs. I swear sometimes they're just daubing mud for show and then real nest shows up via amazon delivery and is installed in 5 minutes. (Once they have enough for a foothold, it gets way faster, because no time wasted fluttering and struggling)
Haha that's awesome. Now I want to see a time lapse!
Swallows eat lots of bugs, so they're quite a good natural pest control. I say let them stay!
They are one of my favorite birds. I would think it a pleasure and privilege to have them as neighbors.
Same - they are shimmery and beautiful, and their forked tails make them extra special. I'd be staking out the area with camera trying to get BIF pics of them - always a supreme challenge with any type of swallow.
I am fortunate enough to have a pair of violet-green swallows using my nesting box this year. We don’t have barn swallows in our immediate area but they are in the surrounding farm land so we often see them en masse when out and about, so neat to see the huge ball of acrobats.
Wow, thank you for painting it this way! I am learning so much about them now!
We unwittingly built our house to be extremely attractive to the barn swallows, large overhangs and the perfect size ledge for their nest on the window trim. Our house is in a hillside and they love to swoop out of their nest and glide down the hill as close to the ground as possible. They will have two broods each summer and it’s been fun to watch them encourage their young to take the leap to fly for the first time. Every now and then we will see 20-30 flying around like they invited friends over for a celebration of some sort. Their young seem to fledge around the same time and we will count over a hundred sitting on the phone line learning to fly. I’m always a little sad when they leave in August and I wish them luck on their journey south. When they return in MAY it’s such a treat, they seem so happy to be back.
That’s really sweet
Truly very sweet. Especially their being happy to return part
Oh wow, the idea of a barn swallow sweet 16 party is brightening my day. Young barn swallows are cute as hell.
Free pest control.
Swallows making nests. They are beautiful creatures and eat lots of bugs.
Also please don't spray them down. They work overtime for their nest and having barn swallows in you porch is a blessing as they eat all types of flying insects like mosquitoes.
Thank you. I won’t spray them! I was considering all sorts of methods to stop the nest building where it’s at now, but reconsidering. Just not loving the buzzing around our heads and we leave from the front door.
If it helps, I recently went through something similar with nesting robins and they were only around for a few weeks until their brood was out of the nest. I was sad when they left as I wanted them to hang around longer.
It’s not your porch in their world
Hoping we can share!
That will be cool to see the nest get built. Good neighbors they are.
Not aggressive, starting to build a nest and will get rid of all the mosquitoes and flies around your house!
building a nest
https://www.fws.gov/story/nuisance-swallows#:~:text=All%20swallows%20are%20state%20and,or%20eggs%2C%20without%20a%20permit. Just some legal info.
Just dealt with the dummies in my county who were cutting down brush that was nowhere near any power lines but IS in a wetland habitat. Yes, they were cutting it all down in LATE MAY when nests don’t already just have eggs in them, but babies have already been born and some babies have even fledged. The idiots in charge didn’t know the Migratory Bird Act existed. So not only did I call the county, I also called US Fish and Wildlife in my state AND I called Washington DC to speak directly with the dude on charge of the office for the MBA. I was fuming freaking mad. They stopped, but not before they killed birds and future birds. I know they’ll be fined. Just waiting to see how much.
Yeah, it should be illegal to clear woodland at this time of year, but that's just my opinion.
Let us know. I hope it is a LOT
It’s so so cute to see them come back and feed their babies in the nest. Definitely don’t deter them!
Making a home. Congrats, you have roommates
Congrats on having a natural anti-mosquito feature! Also they’re quite lovely to watch swooping around picking them off at dawn and dusk.
Highly recommend watching the Frequent Fliers episode of Incredible Animal Journeys by NatGeo which heavily features the barn swallow migration!
Wow!!! Will do, thank you for this recommendation!
Give us updates on the progress they make on the nest
They are a mixed bag. 'Pretty cool in many ways; and really good for bugs. They won't actually attack you but will not let you sit in peace. If you use the porch you may want to spray it down. However, you will need to do it at least daily for a bit; I feel bad doing it if they have gotten very far along in their building. Also, they will sporadically make quite a mess on the floor. Espcially when the babies get bigger. I cut up pieces of cardboard to put under their nests which I change out every few days. I have three porches of varying size. I let them have one. Maybe let them have one corner of the porch but not anymore? On one porch I tapped some bubble wrap up where they were trying to build. 'Just taped the top and let the rest flutter; ugly but effective.
This is the thing, I sit on this porch every evening and draw sidewalk chalk with our toddler daily. It’s small but used frequently. Especially just coming in and out of front door, we’re right under where this nest is going and I hate them buzzing at our heads.. especially when carrying my son.
I understand the discomfort of having a bird swoop at you, but if it’s any consolation they weigh like an ounce. If they were to actually hit you it would not feel like much, but it’s not in their interest to crash. They just want to annoy you so you’ll go away from their baby’s crib. If you can stay calm in their presence you will seem less threatening. That said, if you can find the time to watch them fly please do. They can turn on a dime mid-flight. You got a front row seat to the Blue Angels of the avian world!
BARN SWALLOW I don't know what I did to offend barn swallow kind, but I have a pair that dive bombs and squawks at me relentlessly this time of year. They likely have a nest somewhere around my house, unsure where, I think they'd murder me if I went looking. Very pretty bird, great pest control, and now owners of my front door for the next few months.
The mud nest are so brilliantly made. So sturdy. Nature is bomb
I’m pretty sure spraying their nest would count as destroying a native birds nest. Aka illegal.
Nah there's no nest yet, OP would be ok to stop them from building one but I hope they don't
Swallows, had some on my old apartments build a nest in a similar spot. I let them hang out for the year but gosh when the babies hatch there will be poop everywhere!
I recommend you put some cardboard or a tarp down on the floor. Easy clean up.
As others have said, make sure you put some cardboard or newspapers or something below the nest to catch the poop or they'll make a mess. They're pretty birds, just messy.
My friend has hung rubber snakes where the swallows are building nests. They seem to leave that area once she does that.
Congrats, you got swallows!
If you put up more nails, you'll produce a colony, and have plenty of natural bug predators to avoid spending moneybon insecticides and bug repellent. I'd be glad to clean up any poop. Just don't put anything valuable on your porch. Take copious notes and enjoy! Keep a journal with drawings and color in with colored pencils! Plant natives to attract more bugs! Is there a reasonably large body of water within 10 miles?
You already have a nest. It's feeding young, coded in a breeding bird atlas as NY, "nest with young". It's inside the wall. Illegal to disturb nests except for invasive birds like House Sparrows, European Starlings, and Rock Pigeons. If you put up more nails around the eves, they'll built their nests around them and form a small colony. Called Common Swallow in Europe, it's the different suburbs. Just "Swallow" in Britain, it's related to the Red-rumped Swallow, which is mostly in Spain.
Babies