Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

Nature is beautiful but rough, not the sweet documentaries we see on our streams. The natural world is full of animals eating one another, from rabbits and moles to birds, chickens, and bugs.

One of the birds we have come to know and admire is the barn swallows, who build nests in the barn and swoop down on any predator who comes close (including Zip, who seems to steer clear of their babies. This morning, we caught a pigeon trying to raid a swallow nest, and Maria discovered a baby on the floor caught up in her sweep of the barn manure.  The baby was tiny and was almost invisible.

They had obviously fallen out of a next just above us in the rafter.

(We find dead deer, possums, foxes, and raccoons on our front lawn or in the road; people hit them and kill them in cars and tractors and drive off. The state transportation department controls our road, and they came to get the bodies, especially the deer. We’ve hit and killed at least two deer; we always  call the police and make sure the animal is dead and is taken away.)

Despite their diligent parenting, barn swallows’ nests are constantly under threat from other birds, high winds, and heavy rain. It’s a heart-wrenching sight to see lifeless baby swallows scattered on the ground, the unfortunate ones who couldn’t survive the harsh conditions of their early days.

We picked up the baby and saw it was still alive. It probably fell out of the nest recently, and the vigilant mother wasn’t around.

Maria got a ladder and placed the baby next to three or four siblings in the nest.  We just returned after lunch and got the ladder out again; we wanted to see if the baby survived while making sure not to damage the next, and I, of course, wanted to take a picture.

They all had their mouths open, awaiting and calling for some food. Barn swallows are notoriously protective of their offspring. They’ll be back.

Zip was watching us from just a few feet away. I shivered to think of what might happen if he had encountered that little bird.

We were happy to see him chirping for food and sitting in the nest—a small victory in the rough-and-tumble natural world. There aren’t many happy endings in the natural world; it’s a tough place.