In one of my visits to my parents, this spring, I had the opportunity to see for the first time a close-up nest of a Swallow, and to take a picture of it. ... in fact, there were several nests. Two were found in the stable of the horses, one in the wood house and one in the shed.
I hardly managed to take a photo to the mother Swallow when she entered into the horse' stable.
When I was trying to come close to the nest, she flew away quick as flash.... she was flying over the trees, and through the courtyard and chirp, probably worried because of the little ones. I quickly took a few pictures and let her return to the little ones who were waiting to be fed.
I think they were already fed and they took a nap.
According to the Wikipedia: "Swallows are able to produce many different calls or songs, which are used to express excitement, to communicate with others of the same species, during courtship, or as an alarm when a predator is in the area. The songs of males are related to the body condition of the bird and are presumably used by females to judge the physical condition and suitability for mating of males.[34] Begging calls are used by the young when soliciting food from their parents. The typical song of swallows is a simple, sometimes musical twittering."
The video below I made it before the the chicks come out and it seems they were really very communicative.
It was a special day for me, I felt very good watching these Swallows and their chicks.
Be happy and enjoy everyday of your life!
.... and of course, the horse...
Hugs,
didutza