Day 261: Mating season got off to a very bad start this spring. Only a few days after the Tree Swallows had begun looking for suitable homes, we were hit with a cold snap and several days of snow. It was almost a month before I saw another swallow investigating the House of Chirp, but eventually, a couple moved in, bringing at least two nest attendants with them. One of the attendants fell victim to a raptor only a few feet from the House, and it took me several days to assure myself that the mated pair were both still alive. Then it seemed that the House had been occupied for a long time without the sound of little chirps being heard from within. I hoped this was due to my failing hearing, but it worried me. Were the parents caring for non-viable eggs? I spent many anxious hours watching from the kitchen window for any evidence to the contrary, and eventually was rewarded by the female who emerged carrying a tiny fecal sac for disposal away from the nest. Swallows are amazingly conscientious about their housekeeping. A few days ago, a little bitty head appeared in the doorway, much to my relief. But there was a puzzle here: I still was not hearing chirps from inside the House. I was still attributing it to hearing loss when I discovered the truth of the matter. These youngsters have parents who are not only more protective than I've ever seen before, even dive-bombing me when I am 10-12 feet away from the box, but they are also very strict with their offspring. When I finally heard the long-awaited chirps, a high-pitched single note repeated several times in close succession from the phone wire behind me silenced them immediately. Dad means business when he says, "You kids shut up now!" They obey without question or argument. It won't be long now until they are ready to leave the nest, having been thoroughly schooled in how to be a Tree Swallow under the strict discipline of their parents.
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