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Spain
Now living in l'Olleria, south of Valencia

Monday 8 June 2009

Try your wings


Yesterday, as I was on the terrace, I spotted that one of the swallows constantly flying in and out seemed to be struggling a little. I quickly realised that this one was actually one of the babies, trying it's wings out for the first time. It was flapping away madly, rather than swooping like the parents.

It fluttered around in circles, and then finally landed on a wire for a rest. The parents were nearby, keeping an eye out. A little later, the next one left the nest and then a third. The juveniles from last year came too, to look after the babies and soon the air was filled with swallows chattering.

It is quite humbling, to see how quickly they take to flying, swooping and gliding around. By sheer luck today, I managed to catch a photo of all six babies having a rest. As you can see, they no longer fit into the nest at once - although I suspect that at night time, they simply squeeze in!

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