The Barn Swallow

Not long ago they discovered in a large home improvement store that the Barn Swallows could hover in front of the electronic eye motion detectors and open doors. How cleaver they are! At the Maplewood, Minnesota Home Depot the barn swallows have returned every year since 2000 to nest inside away from predators and bad weather. This demonstrates how smart these little creatures actually are.

I could spend hours watching these talented small birds swoop out over the water catching flies as they go.  One time I spent a lot of time trying to get a photo of the mother bird feeding her young ones, but alas the momma bird was just too fast for me to catch while she fed them.  She would dart in and back out so quickly.  Feeding one bird on each trip kept the mother busy all afternoon.  Finally I decided having a photo of the open mouthed youngsters was the best I could do that day.

In the Audubon field guide it estimates that some of the mother barn swallows fly as much at 600 miles (1000 kilometers) in search of food for their young. That burns a lot of calleries!

"Birds are important because they keep systems in balance: they pollinate plants, disperse seeds, scavenge carcasses and recycle nutrients back into the earth. But they also feed our spirits, marking for us the passage of the seasons, moving us to create art and poetry, inspiring us to flight and reminding us that we are not only on, but of, this earth."

Because these swallows eat primarily flying insects, they have a lack of calcium in their diet.  So they crave calcium  If you provide eggshells they will be attracted to your yard or feeder.

Or to be safer from predators spread your eggshells out on the roof.