A while back I posted an update on the nesting birds we have here. One of the swallows’ nests is in our lambing shed and it was looking pretty crowded. A total of five fledglings were all vying for space. We kept an eye on it and one day Nicole found a fledging on the ground. It was fine. To be honest, it was a miracle the hens hadn’t eaten it as they spend a lot of time in that shed.
The problem we had is that there was no room in the nest. Even with just four fledglings, it was jampacked with young swallows.
Inspiration came and I went and got an egg box. It was quite simple to put a couple of egg compartments alongside the nest and into it went the fledgling.
We checked from time to time and sadly, the poor fledgling was turfed out again and didn’t make it. Nature can be cruel. However, even with four, room was at a premium and one moved in to an egg cup (see picture).
They have all fledged and flown the nest now and we sometimes watch them swooping around our house and fields. There are certainly plenty of flies for them this year.