Barn Swallows

I recently went into our local Kohl's department store. It's a new stucco and brick building, similar to others in the area that are encroaching upon the natural rural habitat of our wildlife. Without barns and large old trees, these swallows had to resort to the next best thing. It was dusk, and I wasn't able to get a super good shot of these active little birds with my dying camera, but you can still see the amazing architecture of their "adobe-like" mud nests.

Barn swallow colonies are made of mud pellets and fibrous material (bits of string, dust, etc.) and are often built under eaves, bridges, or other man-made structures. They prefer unpainted, untreated surfaces, and the nests must be protected from rain, which will compromise the mud dwellings.