Underneath a bridge in Prospect Park, little mud pellets mark the beginning of a Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) nest. Interestingly, the swallows seem to be using an old Organpipe Mud Dauber wasp nest as a brace or support.
Five days later, the cup-like nest is coming along. A few bits of twig or the like seem to have been added to the mix as well. 
Seven days later. The darker portion is fresher mud, still damp. This shot from almost directly underneath, to show how far it sticks out from the wall.
It’s surprisingly dark under here — these pictures were taken with flash — so a better place to see these swallows nesting is at the Boathouse, where they build their nests in plain sight underneath the building’s eaves. The proximity to water is no accident. That’s where you will usually see these birds acrobatically coursing after airborne insects.
The most-widespread species of swallow in the world, the Barn Swallow almost exclusively nests on human structures. What did they do before humans? And, considering they breed across Eurasia, did they have a feather in inspiring pottery, or at least the earliest unfired agglomeration of pieces of clay air-dried in the sun?
Down underneath Pier One at Brooklyn Bridge Park is another place Barn Swallows nest. This is right next to Barge Music, where you may see the birds perching on their tiny feet on the rusting hull.
Backyard and Beyond 
Leave a comment