(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Dawn Chorus in Days Of Our Lives [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-07-16 My dog BJ comes over to the side of the bed and rousts me out a half hour before the alarm starts its music. That’s because he knows the horses get fed at 7 AM sharp. Not a minute before or after. My other dog, Happen, used to do that but BJ seems to have taken over that duty in tribute to his brother. In any case the coffee is hot and I am out the door in time to be in that barn at 7 sharp! That is to prove to my horses they can depend on me. At our place rule #1 is “Horses First”. Upon entering the barn Dawn Chorus begins in earnest as the Swallows who nest there start circling around overhead. Around and around they go, from one end to the other, before perching atop exterior walls or on electrical conduit hanging from the bottom of the loft rafters over the center aisle, or on the gate supports that are the front partition of each stall. Females often resume sitting on the front edge of their nest. Once perched their cheery conversation begins and Dawn Chorus is officially underway. On June 18th this years first batch of Swallow babies flew from their nests for the first time. Their muscles weren’t accustomed to prolonged exercise so that first flight didn’t last beyond exiting the barn to take up a perch on the power line connecting my house to the pole out front of the main barn. I was on the ground outside in the parking area trying to fix my first flat in a year and a half, a record for me. They perched on the line directly above where I was working. Three of the SIX (!) babies who exited Main Mama’s nest perched on the line right above where I was working. This has become a repetitive behavior of our Swallows babies after their first flight. The youngster to the left is a bird I named Particular. This is where it all started. That particular baby on the left maintained his spot in that corner of the nest, so I tagged him Particular. Look at that set of beautiful beady eyes keeping tabs on me! What we’re going to do now is study Barn Swallow behavior while we follow along with these first time flyers as they accumulate the skills they need to survive and thrive. You might have guessed the one I call PARTICULAR will be in the starring role. There is more than one reason for that, which you will discover by the time we drop the curtain on this Dawn Chorus. As soon as I noticed the babies overhead I ran back in the house to get my camera, insuring this tire job would take longer than originally planned. The adult Swallows were out in force to safeguard and instruct the newbies. Knowing this would provide numerous photo opportunities I concentrated on my top priority. The blown tire would have to wait! Some of the following photos are right off the top shelf of my Swallow BIF collection and IMO threaten what has been my Swallow pic bar setter for a few years now. I’ve shown this photo before but just for the record this is the bar setter I’m trying to better. Besides flying around in front of them, the adults mingle with the youngsters on the line hoping to encourage them to take to their wings. This involves a lot of conversation. Main Papa and Mama consult, taking time for some self satisfaction. Adults often perch between youngsters to separate them from each other in hopes the young will take to instruction more readily. It also makes it easier to get them to move further down the line so as to be closer to the open airspace away from the trees and out over the corral, the thoroughbred pasture, and the pond. Those areas are the main hunting grounds for our local tribe of Barn Swallows. Main Papa; “Mama, I think it’s safe to say we outdid ourselves with this batch!” Particular appears to be paying attention. Or maybe they are all just pointing at that tire I’m supposed to be fixing! The adults do more than just fly around in front of the perched youngsters. They attempt to lead by example, including some fun games that are designed to provide experience in how to make a living as a Swallow. I posted a Sequence Friday diary ( www.dailykos.com/… ) including a sequence of a Swallow doing airborne antics focused on a floating feather. At the time I gullably assumed the Swallow had mistaken the feather for a butterfly. It turns out playing with feathers floating around in the air is ‘a thing’ for Swallows, and they use it as an example for how to catch insects flying around. “Hey gang, I found this feather. Let’s play! Adult Swallows play the feather game right over the barn roof and in full view of the young first time flyers. “Catch it if you can!” “Ima get that feather!” “I got it!” Then the catcher promptly drops it back into the airflow... “Now I got it!” Wheee. Adult Swallows are trying to lure youngsters into the feather game to teach them how to catch insects on the fly. The feather game is a prime opportunity to put flying prowess on full display. This seemingly headless Swallow performs the Kamikaze dive, looping back skyward in the nick of time. A few of the young flew up and circled near the game but did not try to actually participate, then returned to a perch on the line. But their new perch was out on the main line instead of over the parking area. Progress! The Barn Swallow youngsters relocate to the main line further out toward the open areas. All but one, that is. One particular bird remains in the shade in company of Main Papa. Main Papa tries to entice Particular to take to the air. Main Papa; “Hey son, what say we go for a spin and try to catch some lunch?” Particular; “No worries, Pop, I got this!” Papa immediately takes off to leave Particular alone on the line. Look at that beautiful signature Barn Swallow tail. It shows what nearly all Barn Swallows tail looks like. As a matter of fact you should make a PostIt of that tail pic so you will remember it for future reference. Papa; “If you got this, show me what you got!” Particular; “You’re not leaving me alone with this two-legged tire jockey, are you?” Particular lifted off to fly into the wild blue yonder. Particular circled toward the highest branches of the last tree between barn and pond. ”See Pop, Ima catch bugs just like the big boys!” Having proved his point Particular circles back to take a perch on the main line with his siblings. Particular perches on the main line while the parents try to get the others to take to the air. The parent teases by showing normal feeding behavior but instead of feeding the begging baby she flies right on by in an effort to get the youngster to follow into the air. Tough love? The first time flyers have a lot to learn but they learn very quickly thanks to the tried and proven teaching methods deployed by experienced parents. This circle is almost complete. ****************************** Now that the first broods are airborne it will be time for the adults to resume their normal regimen. That begins with a conversation between Crazy Bird and Main Papa in the willows by the pond. Crazy Bird (left) letting Main Papa know his duties are about to be put to the test as she is suddenly feeling a primal urge. ”Time to get our affairs in order Papa, because our time is now!” Papa; “I hear ya loud and clear Crazy Bird.” As though wanting to consult with me, Crazy Bird flies over to perch in some branches within 8 feet of my bucket seat in the shade of cedars at the other corner of our pond. This pic offers as much, or more, detail than you have a right to ask for. It shows Crazy Bird’s readiness to make an additional contribution to the tribe’s numbers. Swallow porn? Use the plus and scroll to see if you can learn something about Swallows. Crazy Bird’s “consultation” gesture to me was just that. She had clearly reached her decision before coming over to my spot. With that she rose up to take a perch on the main line straight above the cedars that were shading me on this very hot day. Crazy Bird, looking her best, perched on the main line straight above my seat under the cedars. ”Here I am Papa. Don’t you dare keep me waiting!” Crazy Bird; “C’mon Papa, I’ve been waiting for you.” Papa; “I see you. Keep singing that love song. You know how that gets to me.” This photo approximates the same moment as my bar setter pic and all things considered I think threatens to take over that top rung. Maybe I’ll just bookend them on the same rung. Papa's other kind of Shining Moment! Papa; ‘ll just fly a special little halo around you then we’ll do this thing up right!” Papa is clearly primed for the action. Perky Papa + Note: Wouldn’t you know this would be the time for a camera fight? I was twisting trying to get out of the way of a cedar branch when Pop’s ultimate Shining Moment occurred, so my shots of THE MOMENT were so fuzzy as to be useless! The moment doesn’t offer more than a very brief opportunity and there were no do-overs. It looked a lot like two birds struggling to perch on the same spot, but Papa’s feet never touched the line and his wings never stopped flapping. Once the moment passed there were parting shots. Crazy Bird; “Is that all there is?” (you can sing along if you like) Papa; “It was short, but it sure was sweet! Now you will have to excuse me as I have to resume establishing my “Lord of the Summer Skies” status. Crazy Bird, you are free to just go lay an egg!” Papa; “There we go. Lord of the Summer Sky is my destiny. Heh, ‘just go lay an egg’...I can’t believe I actually said that to her.” Me; “Papa, you better go get freshened up.” Papa; “If you’re ready I’m ready, but you better be quick!” Me; “Aha! Miracles do happen! This makes two Shining Moments in one day.” Shining Moment Papa’s flourishing finish should end this Dawn Chorus. However, I can add that when I arrived in the barn for chores the very next morning Crazy Bird was parked on her nest, and has steadfastly been there ever since! Oh wait, there is one more little detail. Regarding that PostIt I tried to con you into making. I didn’t really expect you would follow through with that, so I took the liberty of doing it for you! Particular wasn’t quite done with his antics. He made a trip to the pond too! Besides all his flying prowess Particular learned to do the dip in his first 24 hours of flight! His first attempts were a bit sloppy, but... He learned how to finish with a flourish! He slings a liquid lariat of sparkling spittle, then catches it with his own reflection! Good trick, huh? Now then, about that PostIt… One of Father Matt’s favorite sayings that I will always remember is “You cannot be just like everyone else AND be outstanding!” Particular took that to heart...or more accurately he took it to tail. Particular shows off an attraction that helps make him an outstanding individual. Compare his tail design to that of all other Barn Swallows I have seen. His white bar tail design extends upward on the outside edges as compared to the white bars trailing downward on all the others, including his father. Whew! [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/16/2179551/-Dawn-Chorus-in-Days-Of-Our-Lives Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/