Barn Swallows and Boat Anchors

I have been watching them for many years, Barn Swallows arrive sometime in early May, feeding on maritime insects of all sorts, those good old no-seeums, mosquitoes and whatever else that is available.

They enjoy the habitat surrounding the many marinas in Norwalk Harbor, close to the shoreline, lots of bugs to eat, and some cool man made places to make a nest.

They like a place with a bit of cover to build their nest, and many boats in the area seem to be the perfect place for there nest building.

Most boats these days have a built in bow pulpit, this is an extension of a boats bow that usually accommodates the boats anchor, Barn Swallows have found the underneath of these pulpits to their liking as a nesting sites.

It is not hard to follow adult Barn Swallows right to their nest in any marina, as they are busy providing food to their very hungry and demanding youngsters.


The bottom is the boats anchor, the nest is built on top of it,
above is the bow pulpit with the roping.


Note the mud based nest, built on the top of a boat anchor,
beneath the boats bow pulpit, they fill it with many feathers.







Not a good shot, but you can see the open mouths of the hatchlings,
asking me for a bit of food!
Mama was right there to feed them as soon as I passed bye.
The poop is not from the adults, but rather the youngsters, they quickly learn to turn around and deficate outside of the nest!

The only issue here is when a Captain chooses to go boating, and does not realize he/she has a few extra passengers on board!
The swallows seem to use the less frequently used boats, but that is not always the case.