How can we help the swallows?
Text: Vello Keppart
Photo: Arne Ader
Translation: Liis
Nest-building barn swallows
Swallows build their nests now: nest building materials are mud, clay, straws, feathers. During droughts, when mud puddles dry up, the birds find clay and mud at the banks of water bodies, and low-lying basins in pastures where animals have trampled wet clay and soil. In the city there is asphalt instead; water-logged areas have been drained and keeping of cattle is banned.
Here bird friends can help. In open fields without obscuring high grass, bushes and trees wet, clayey puddles can be created and watered in early morning. A bird bath nearby would also be very welcome.
The nest sites chosen by the swallows can be supported with wooden frames:
Setting feathers to drift where swallows fly can be an interesting game for children. In cities it is difficult to find feathers, it is easier in villages where hens or other domestic birds are kept. Each feather set flying can help our national bird the barn swallow. The swallows in the area will soon gather there – they take a great interest in flying feathers.
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