Late Season Barn Swallow School

2017 was a very busy year. Every year is different, but one thing is definitely changing, we are admitting long range migratory birds later in the season than ever before. This is challenging. 2 Barn Swallows, that had fallen from their nest, were admitted in August. It took 2 days to stabilize them. The best thing would have been a re-nesting, since baby birds are best raised by their parents. The longer they are away from their parents, the bigger the challenge would be for a re-nesting. We attempted a reunion, by placing a nest as close as possible to the original one. It took over an hour for one of the parents to approach the nest, but sadly they did not return. We brought them back to Destined to Fly where they fledged the next day. The swallows had a lot to learn in a short period of time. Swallow School started immediately in the pre-release aviary. With no rain in the forecast, they excelled in learning what they needed to know to survive once released. The Barn Swallows were released on a beautiful clear day. They had had a view of our barn, where swallows were still nesting. On release they immediately took off and joyfully flew to a great height, flying acrobatically in a mesmerizing dance.