Tuesday 24 June 2014

The Swallows at the National Trust House............................................. Erddig

The old outbuildings at Erddig were ideal nesting spots for swallows... and there were loads of them.

The old stables and workshops will have had nesting swallows for well over 200 years.

Swallows were flying in and out feeding their young constantly...dodging the visitors by inches. 

Me taking images of the vintage vehicles in the garages... the swallows were also nesting in here.

As we exited the house via the kitchens we had to pass through a small passage... 
...with six nests above with hungry mouths crying out to be fed. 

A newly fledged swallow was on the passage floor...
...a National Trust guide was warning visitors as they passed through.

It had left the nest but wasn't quite ready to fly... the parents were feeding it on the ground.
"It's the same every summer" said the guide... "but they always survive"

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday and The Bird D'pot

19 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

so very cute. glad the volunteers help protect them, too. :)

Unknown said...

Adorable!

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

HI Andrew that looks like a lovely place to visit. The wallows have done well despite the visitors. Great photos of them all

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

I like those old cars, but you already knew that. Struggling with Blogger problems these last two days and trying to catch up.

Anonymous said...

Good to see your reflecting on the old autos and the effects on birds.

eileeninmd said...

I am glad the baby will survive. The Swallows are so darn cute. Great shots.

Brian King said...

Swallows are one of my favorites! Beautiful birds!

Karen said...

Quite sweet looking birds!

Carole M. said...

good to hear that those out of the nest a little too early do manage to survive; a nice series of the beautiful swallows Andrew

betty-NZ said...

We have lots of swallows at our house (in the middle of cow paddocks) and they have never seemed to be afraid of me. I would love to get a shot of some of their babies in the nest. I bet it was interesting to hear all that peeping!

ADRIAN said...

I love the horse. It is a beauty.

I suspect it must be a cat free zone for the swallow to stand even half a chance. Still they couldn't really say so to folk out for a pleasant Sunday.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

I so adore Swallows and these images are just wonderful, and enjoyed the other images too ;)

Stephanie said...

These are great!

Pantherka said...


This is a wonderful Andrew.

Anonymous said...

Such beautiful, sleek-looking birds. The young one looks very vulnerable on the ground.

Wally Jones said...

Very nice series, Andrew! And it's nice that you were able to enjoy a beautiful location as a bonus! (Your main objective WAS to see Swallows, right?) :)

Anni said...

...another exceptional post. The swallows and the added historical interest HELD my interest.

Thanks for linking up this weekend. It's always appreciated.

A Colorful World said...

How wonderful! It has to be delightful to see so many. The historic house is awesome as well.

Valerie said...

Despite this size, swallows strike me as being such elegant birds. Thanks for sharing your images Andrew.