Begging

These Tree Swallow chicks are getting big enough to be seen in the nest box.

What goes in must come out – this image shows the unpleasant duty of removing poop from the nest.

When I was filming this pair, the female arrived a couple of times not only with food but she appeared to have dipped into our pond to wet her chest feathers. It’s a familiar sight at the pond to see the Purple Martins, Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows skimming the surface to take a drink on the wing. Sometimes they drop below the surface and skim across the water slightly submerged before flying off. Back in the recesses of my memory, I recall reading that chicks may be fed water through the wet feathers – but, I’m not absolutely certain what I recall reading applies to this species. If nothing else, she probably cooled herself off.