In Which Three Mop-Top Babies Get Fed!

There was a break in the rain Friday morning, and so I made a hasty trip to the Millbrook Marsh with my camera before work. I hustled down the boardwalk and into the duck blind, where a pair of barn swallows have built their nest overhead.

I peered inside and saw at least three mop-top babies. They had messy bed-head hair: you know, the kind you can't do a THING with; not even conditioner will help.

The parents came by while I was there and they flew around looking a bit distressed. Then one of them perched on the wooden railing just outside the duck blind and read me the riot act - so I didn't stay long. Far be it from me to get between a nest of baby birds and their next meal!

With the sky being overcast and the nest being inside the duck blind, the lighting conditions were terrible, but I did snap a few shots while I was there. They turned out mostly blurry, alas, but this one was passable: the beaks of parent and baby seemed to be almost touching in a kiss, so here it is!

The soundtrack for this blip is the song Feed the Birds, sung by Julie Andrews in the film Mary Poppins, which came out in 1964, the year I was born.

P.S. I thought I'd include a link about feeding your backyard birds. Did you know that they don't recommend you feed birds bread? It has no nutritional value to them, and moldy bread is especially bad and can cause them problems. Chocolate is toxic to birds, as it is to dogs and cats. And table scraps are not advised. Here is a link.