Out of that tiny egg!

Yesterday, exactly three weeks after I found that fragile egg-shell I had all four young Swallows sitting on the beam behind which their nest is secreted. Today they practised their flying skills inside the safety of the stable and two of them joined the two adults for an exploratory flight. I am amazed at their agility and have to make sure they are all safely back at night. The young ones were back on their, now overcrowded nest, one adult was on the first nest used this year and the other was on a nest used last year. I know it is a hopeless photo but the baby Swallows are on the beam just to the left of the fourth rung down of the ladder!
So these parents have successfully raised nine young this year, that is something worth celebrating!