Are these wrens?
reddit.com/gallery/vqljhs
reddit.comPosted Jul 3, 2022, 4:38 PM UTC
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reddit.comThey’ll munch up all your mosquitoes, greet you with friendly chatter, and weave beautiful blue flight patterns while glistening in the sun. They are the best and luckiest birds!
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Yeah we love having them. We’ve been watching them nest, egg, grow, and now they are about to fledge
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egg
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It’s also very cool to have them bc every year they’ll come back to their nest and those babies might come back to build their own nests on your house.
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Swallows making a nest on your house is a good omen!
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That is good news!! Thank you!
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I live in North Carolina, USA For location of birds.
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Ahhh! Anywhere near Durham? I want porch swallows! All I have are cranky wrens lol
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Barn swallows
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I’ve got barn swallows at my home! They make quite a mess of our front entry and come back every year. Exterminator actually knocked down the nest once- we were devastated but they still came back and built a new nest!
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That is where they are at and they have a massive mess under them
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Wish I had some advice for ya. They’ve been coming back for nearly ten years now and we still have no clue how to keep the entry clean. They actually built an addition on their one nest plus a second nest so we’ve got a proper subdivision now
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Put a large winter boot tray underneath
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I bought some cheap rugs at Dollar Tree. I also put down shelf-lining paper, like the kind that has a sticky side and which you’d put in your cabinets to set dishes on. I bought that at Dollar Tree too. Someone in my barn swallow FB groups suggested Press and Seal. Not sure what that is though. Also cardboard would be easy clean up too.
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I have them every year in my garage. They come and do a flyby late April/early May, honeymoon, come back and settle in until now, after they've fledged 3 or 4. They take a break for a few weeks then do a second nesting. They leave the garage fully in September.
We throw a tarp on the floor but we barely enter the garage all summer, so as not to disturb The Royals. I do love them.
OP I'm glad you love them too! They're good luck.
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Wish I had barn swallows :c
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not wrens. maybe a swallow or marten of some sort.
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I just looked up Barn swallow and they look just like those. And there beats are the same! Thank you!!
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thanks for the update. hopefully i will remenber the next time i see one.
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Barn swallows! Lucky you, I haven't managed to take any pics of them yet b/c I only see them flying around at approx 100mph, lol! You can tell by the dramatic forked tails.
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swallows
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That nest is stressing me out. It doesn’t look very stable, but I’m guessing these guys know what they are doing.
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Barn swallow nest construction is pretty cool. They’re made out of many mud pellets gathered and allowed to dry into an independent structure. This one’s pretty much glued to the wall.
“Both male and female build the nest cup using mud. They collect mud in their bills and often mix it with grass stems to make pellets. They first construct a small shelf to sit on, then build up the nest’s sides. If built against a wall or other vertical surface the result is a semicircular, half-cup shape.”
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow/lifehistory
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Wow. Wild. Thank you for sharing.
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You sound like me! I actually contacted a local rehabber last year because I was so worried when they finished building their nest and it only looked halfway done.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U5i2DlvRtA1hHEu3z86ysEmxkEcIq1D2/view?usp=drivesdk
Later, when we were able to sneak a pic of the babies, you can see how nice of a job they did.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n_RARB-F7f-fu9uNHXlEt76mTcZt1MZR/view?usp=drivesdk
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No,those are frens
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Barn swallows for sure
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Barn swallows!
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I'm jealous
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Barn swallows making a nest
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Barn swallows.
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Nope, they’re swallows. Wrens have a distinctive posture with an almost vertical tail.
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Barn Swallows
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Barn swallows! The forked tails distinguish them from the similar looking Cliff Swallow
I feel like I've seen a ton of posts recently about barn swallows. Is it just a coincidence, or has it been an especially good fledging season for them?
Just the time of year. They migrated back north after winter, paired up, nested in spots humans notice and can photograph, and raised babies.
If you mean relative to prior years, then I'd look at the subreddit's ecology before the swallows'. :)
I think there is a population explosion. Last year we had none. This year I have counted 5 nests around my house and barn.
I don't think I'd ever seen one where I live in Ontario until the last year or two. They seem to have had a population explosion where I live and there are tons of them now.
It’s been a very challenging mating season. Sorry couldn’t resist.
Yup! And they make such a mess
Yes. And they eat LOTS of insects!
Tons of mosquitoes! Good birds!
Oreb?