Saturday morning quartet

Lacey, Washington, just a short walk to Puget Sound..
It was the middle Summer in the Pacific Northwest.
I had spent many hours watching the continuation of life in my yard.
Outside my office window, up in the eves over my garage was a little nest built by the Barn Swallows. The little mud nest had been built last Summer and I wonder if they were the same birds who returned to raise this year’s babies.
There were five little ones hatched this year and each time I walked to the front of the garage, there was a lot of commotion and chirping with the adult birds zooming around in their frenzied attempt to distract anyone from seeing their precious little ones. The swooping of the parent birds and the chirping of the babies as their Mother came into view is a delight to watch. They eventually got used to my presence as I would come out to stand and watch their feeding as the parents would swoop in with bugs and seeds for them to eat.
But nature is not always kind….
One day as I was walking out my door, I heard all of this commotion and as I proceeded down my sidewalk. This big black bird took flight, crying out. “caw! caw! caw! .....” moving across the street to sit and watch from the rooftop of my neighbor’s house. What a dark and ominous mood was cast by seeing him sitting there! I could see that my Swallows were very upset by his presence and I knew that I would need to help watch out for them. It did not look hopeful for my little family of birds.
Then one day, their nest was ravaged by Mr. Nasty Crow. When I returned from my errands, I found the nest on the ground, broken and crumbling, with two little feathers to tell me of their fate. My heart sank as I looked for my little birds, but I found no sign at all that they were here. I walked around the side of my house and into the garden, hoping for a sign of them. I was only greeted by silence and the flight of a Dragon Fly. Sadness filled my heart as I thought of the summer’s work of this little family coming to an end so quickly.
But then as I walked slowly back to the front of my house, miraculously there was this joyous flutter and arrival of about a dozen birds, five of them were my little babies. Fortunately, the babies were mature enough to know how to fly, so they were now living on the cross piece over my garage. How exciting this was to watch the survival and growth of these little birds, winning against the adversity of nature.
I set up my camera on a tripod and watched as the adult continued to feed their young until they were strong enough to be on their own.
The Swallows will return each year to my neighborhood and at this rate, there will be more every consecutive year. I will have to watch and see if they come back on the same day each year like they do in San Jaun Capistrano. Perhaps my little babies will come back to make a home on my property next summer….
I will be watching for them.
Placed in “Birds in my backyard” challenge for BACKYARD PHOTOGRAPHY group ~ September 2009
Second place in “Baby Birds Only” challenge of I LOVE BIRDS group ~ September 2009
Second place in “Summer Memories” challenge of BACKYARD PHOTOGRAPHY group ~ 25 OctoBer 2009
Featured in SONGBIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA ~ 16 November 2009



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© 2009 Marjorie Wallace, All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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Starz
omg they are so cute, adorable babies
precious capture Marjie, this is darling
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much, Karon. I have been out several times to watch them being fed. It seems as if there are three or four adult birds feeding them and I am wondering how that can be.
Barbara Applegate
These guys are adorable, great shot
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much, Barbara. These little birds are my project this week. I am listening to make sure that evil crow doesn’t come back.
MarianaEwa
Wonderful capture Marjorie. They are adorable.
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you, Mariana. There are five of them all together, but one of them is always up on the roof. When he trieds to join them during the day, there seems to be a lot of squabling going on.
Marjorie Wallace replied
Leena Hedman
This is a fantastic capture, Marjie!!!! WoWeeeee! An instant fav!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much, Leena. I am so glad you like it and thank you for the fave.
Clark Thompson
This is my favorite of the series. Very nice image Marjie.
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you very much, Clark. I love watching these little guys and see them getting bigger each day.
linifer
OMG! This is so excellent!!!! :))
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much. They are getting used to me being out there with my camera and all of my neighborhood are coming by to watch them as well.
Lois Bryan
OMG!!!! Margie!!!! How totally DARLING!!!! Sweet, sweet cutie pies!!!!!! LOVE this capture!!!!!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much, Lois. I can hear them chirping away right outside my window. The low morning fog is clearing and the adults are out looking for insects to feed them. Insects don’t come out until the sun does, it would seem. Thank you so much for your sweet comments and the favoriting. xoxox
Joanne Bradley
What a lovely capture, excellent title as well!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much, Joanne. They do look like they are singing, don’t they?
ellcot
Wonderful image!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much!
Dave & Trena P...
great capture, beautiful birds
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you very much, Dave and Trena. I appreciate your comments.
John44
Oh Magy bthis is realy awsome!
Greetings from Canada
John
Marjorie Wallace replied
Oh, John. You are visiting in Canada? You are almost to my house maybe? How long are you staying?
Steve Buffington
What a great capture. Well done. Too funny. —Steve
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much, Steve. This was the highlight of the week with these little birds. They fly with the big birds now.
rodeorose
Magic shot- made me laugh!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much. I thought it was funny too.
Baynanno1
Great capture and title. How cooperative they were to all sing at the same time!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you very much!
Cheryl Lunde
Great shot, too bad about their home!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you, Cheryl. Nature can be harsh at times and i was thankful that the little guys were mature enough to be able to fly.
Marie Sharp
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you very much, Marie for letting me know. I am glad everyone liked my baby birds.
Beve Brown-Clark
OOOOOOO they are adorable with their big mouths wide open…. :^)
Marjorie Wallace replied
As soon as the Mother would come into sight, the babies all opened their mouths in unison. It was the sweetest thing to watch.
dinghysailor1
priceless capture! amazing work
:))
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much, Maggie. I felt so lucky all turned out well for these little babies and that Mr. old Nasty Crow did not get his way and to be able to have gotten this photo…. I surely felt blessed and just seeing these photos again is a sweet memory. I am glad you like it. Thank you.
Rosina Lamberti
fabulous ,,well composed.
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you, Rosina.
Antanas
great capture
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you, Antanas.
Trudi's Images
Awww so sweet, lovely capture of these little guys !!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you very much, Trudi.
sstarlightss
How lovely and cute are they, Marjorie! Great capture indeed! ;o)
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you very much. I appreciate your comments.
Larry Trupp
What a gorgeous capture, I like the way their mouths are highlighted here Marjorie, enjoyed your read as well…inst fav for me, thanks
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you very much, Larry
trueblvr
This is funny, and darling all at once. I am glad to read that the babies survived the ravageing. Great capture
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much for your lovely comment. It is much appreciated.
Carol Clifford
Marjie, this is one terrific shot. I think this would make a great poster or greeting card with appropriate wording. “Sing, sing out loud…”??
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you very much, Carol. What a great idea.
TaniaLosada
great capture!!!!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much, Tania.
Ana Belaj
Brilliant work,anna
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you, Anna. A magic moment in summertime.
jansnow
Oh how adorable! This is a favorite for me!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Watching these little babies and their story of survival was one of the great highlights of the summer. I hope they come back to visit next summer…
Marjorie Wallace replied
Hi Jan; I just expanded on my little story of these sweet babies. I hope you will take a moment to read it and i sure hope they come back next summer.
jansnow
Oh Marjorie, what a wonderful story to go along with the image. You captured their story beautifully with your camera and your words. I can’t wait until next year:
) I wrote a story about “Me and Dolly Marie” in my writing section. If you get a chance to read it, it is 8 short chapters. Let me know what you think:)Bellavista2
Absolutely brilliant image, thankyou so much for sharing your beautiful story image with us, very greatly apprecaited, so truely beautiful xoxoxoox:=}
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you vry much. Their survival was a wonderful tribute to the desire to live and thrive. Beautiful lessons to all of us..
Teresa Zieba
OMG they are so cute. Outstanding capture Marjorie.
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you very much, Teresa. The light was fading and I was lucky to get this image.
Marjorie Wallace replied
Shoaib .
oh wow i would run and get my camera too !!! this is awesome !
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you very much. We could have stood out there together. They got pretty used to me being there.
Krys Bailey
You couldn’t have got them to pose any cuter than this! What a sweet and lovely capture!!!
Marjorie Wallace replied
They were dilightful to watch. Thank you for your nice comment.
Susanne Correa
Oh how adorable, what a beautiful capture this is Marjorie, I love it.
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you very much.
ShotsOfLove
This is Gorgeous and funny too Marjorie. Bravo!
You have my Vote :- )
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much for your vote and appreciation of my work. You make me feel blessed.
Olga Zvereva
Amazing capture!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much. One of the highlights of my summer..
Wanda-Lynn
They are so cute!! Excellent capture of these adorable babies!!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so very much. Life’s ongoing gift….
Karen Helgesen
Marjorie Wallace replied
Oooh, thank you so much for letting me know of this honor. I will be doing the happy dance today….

toriyule
This is so cute!!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you. I am glad you like it.
Ellen
I dont know if i commented on this; Its very beautiful!!
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much, Ellen. I am glad you like it.
KatsEye
Way too cute. Your work rocks.
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thankyou so very much. I am glad you like it.
Meeli Sonn
Wow. That beautiful babiesl. This is a fantastic photo of processing, and lighting. I just love composition of that
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much Meeli. This looks even better full sized. i have it on my desk top and they are just so darned cute.
Larry Trupp
Marjorie Wallace replied
Thank you so much, Larry. I am so pleased that my little baby birds are the feature today. I must go and put on my dancing shoes. :~)
Morag Bates
Lovely, lovely shot – how charming – well done indeed, it brightens the soul !
Marjorie Wallace replied 28 days ago
Thank you very much, Moraq. It was one of the highlights of the summer.
Lucindawind
lol isnt this adorable! hungry babies!!
Marjorie Wallace replied 28 days ago
Thank you, Elaine. How I loved seeing them.
William Brennan
I absolutely LOVE this shot. Just perfect. I look forward to seeing the barn swallows by me here in Jersey every year. They are a joy to watch.
Marjorie Wallace replied 28 days ago
Thank you so much, William. I will also be watching in the springtime and summer this year.
Cee Neuner 28 days ago
What a cool shot!!!! Congrats on your feature!!! :D
Marjorie Wallace replied 28 days ago
Thank you very much, Cee. I appreciate your thoughtful comments. :~)
Judy Grant 23 days ago
What great timing and priceless image ! :)
Karen Moore about 16 hours ago
Beautiful !!! What a Stunning Shot !!