they are coming on very well, we still have very warm weather and lots of insects, parents seem to be feeding every few minutes, and the young are becoming very noisy shouting "me me me" when the food arrives. I wonder how the parents know which one to feed, they always seem to grow at the same rate so the distribution must be good.

2 days old

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5 days old

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7 days old

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Really cute and interesting too.

Thanks for posting these wonderful photos.;)

Certainly interesting - I have wanted to follow the whole process from nest construction to fledglings for many years, I have been studying Swallows nesting in my garage for a long time now but work has always got in the way of following an individual family. So stuck at home crawling around on all fours with a knackered back has given me a great opportunity to devote so much time to watching them for many hours every day.

Anyway, here's today's picture, needed to get myself hidden in the loft and precariously hang out of the hatch with the camera so as not to disturb the goings on..

day 8

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May I ask... What type of camera and
Lenses are you using?

Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

I think it is what is known as a "Bridge Camera" it fills the niche between the compact/mobile phone and the SLR. It is too big to fit in your pocket but its lens is long enough to get some good wildlife shots. It is also no where as expensive as an SLR so I don't feel the need to be too careful with it and as such I take it everywhere!

And although the lens is not interchangeable it is quite adaptable as shown in the following two pictures, a blackbird caught stealing raspberries a few days ago (taken from about 25 yards) and a beautiful Damsel fly taken today sitting on my thumb.

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Anyway, back on topic with the swallows nest. Another frantic day of feeding, it seemed as they were getting fed once a minute for most of the day.

11 days old

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Yes they need lots of protein to grow those
Feathers in!

I have an automatic Sony super zoom
Which is really handy for nature photos.
It also will do manual but I really like
The auto features better. With the 9 pixels
I can really do good things on the computer
With them.

Day 13 - the blur on the right is a parent coming in to feed


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16 days old

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and today at 17 days old

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and just to show there is still 4, feed time

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Should be fledging the nest sometime this week - anyone want a guess at what day?

Amazing photos still coming there, Cormorant. Thanks.

They plump up fast. wow.

If we're guessing a day to fledge, my guess will be day 21.