Lara, some birds pluck their own feathers for nest lining. But I don't know if swallows do that. There is typically also a post-nuptial moult of many types of birds. And perhaps this is a source of some feathers too.
They may find seagull or duck feathers too.
Here is an interesting photo of hand offering to a swallow of feathers for her nest!
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And a video of hand picking feathers:
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and this from feathers on the ground:
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I am encouraged by this video. We often find many white feathers upNorth on the shore. I am going to gather these smaller ones dropped by the gulls and geese, bring them back and put them in
my cotton dispenser and see what happens next spring.
We used to have many swallows nesting under the tunnels along our creek...but I haven't seen them lately.
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All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.-- Galileo Galilei
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Weezie looking at petunias 8.25.2017
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