Swallows nesting under a canal bridge and abit of river walking

After waking up to a very wet and windy day I decided to go film and photograph the young Swallows that should be fledging soon the nest is down by the canal under a bridge that goes over the canal so its in a very sheltered area away from the wind and rain. 

The parents were feeding the young Damselflies when we arrived but as the wind was blowing from down the canal making the passage under the bridge a wind tunnel as the adult Swallows were struggling to land. It seemed that if the young fledged today they would struggle to escape and end up in the water but I did not need to worry as they stayed in the nest for a few days. We filmed using the equipment below for colour I had an light attached to light up the nest and when it got dark we used a nightvision camcorder to film them in the dark.

Then there were two all tucked up tight in the nest, they are really old enough to leave now so when the weather gets better hopefully they will decide to fledge and join there parents in the sky.

It was funny to watch them as the canals boats went under them and they watched the boats and people go by that had not a clue they were there and sometimes the boats chimneys were very close to them as they went in and out of the nest and could not decide whether to fledge or return to the safety of the nest.


I have decided to include the Swallow canal family as part of the first episode of DOACWW as they live in a very interesting place that will tie in to other wildlife that passes under the bridge including Badgers and Otters.

Thanks for reading


Mike