Date: 9/12/26 5:29 pm From: Nathan Pieplow <npieplow...> Subject: Re: [cobirds] Re: Late nesting barn swallows
And now that I have spent a weekend day at home with these birds, I can
report that the juvenile Barn Swallows on the nest outside my door are
receiving regular feeding visits from an adult as of a few minutes
ago. Sometimes they are getting fed outside the nest, sometimes inside.
When they're outside the nest, I suppose the appropriate breeding code is
DY (dependent young). When they're in the nest, I suppose it's FY (feeding
young, i.e., nestlings). I don't know how common this situation is in this
or other species, or how well documented.
Nathan Pieplow
Boulder
On Sat, Sep 12, 2026 at 2:32 PM Jared Del Rosso <jared.delrosso...>
wrote:
> Inspired by Nathan's post and wondering whether the young Barn Swallows
> were still in the nest, I took a short walk at the same shopping center in
> Arapahoe County around 2:10 PM this afternoon. The two Barn Swallows were
> still in the nest, looking chubby and very soon able to leave the nest. In
> the very short time I visited them (approx. 5 seconds), an adult came in
> and fed them at the nest. On my walk *to* the nest, it looked like other
> feeding flights were made into the nest area.
>
> [image: PXL_20260912_200624403 (1).jpg]
> - Jared Del Rosso
> Centennial, CO
>
> On Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 11:38:26 AM UTC-6 Nathan Pieplow wrote:
>
>> Scott, Jared, et al.:
>>
>> I have a Barn Swallow nest right outside my front door, and in most years
>> it fledges two broods. As of last night, the three juveniles from the
>> second brood were still returning to the nest regularly during the day and
>> roosting in it every night, even though their first flights took place
>> probably ten days ago. The nest is frequently empty when I leave for work
>> in the morning, and I often come home from work in the afternoon to find
>> all three juveniles huddled inside it.
>>
>> This raises a question of what counts as "fledging" in this species, and
>> how one can tell. The nest that Scott observed was definitely on a later
>> schedule than the one at my house, since the parents haven't been regularly
>> feeding at my house for over a week, but as late as yesterday the nest
>> would probably have earned a legitimate "NY" breeding code if someone
>> happened upon it at the right time of day.
>>
>> Nathan Pieplow
>> Boulder
>>
>> On Sat, Sep 12, 2026 at 10:00 AM Jared Del Rosso <jared.d......>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Inspired by Scott's posts about these swallows, I went for a short
>>> "walk" at a local shopping center in Greenwood Village-ish (closer to
>>> Littleton & west Centennial than DTC) in Arapahoe County where Barn
>>> Swallows typically nest. The first three or so nests were empty, but the
>>> fourth had young in it. Two, I think?
>>>
>>> [image: PXL_20260912_154455118.jpg]
>>>
>>> - Jared Del Rosso
>>> Centennial, CO
>>>
>>> On Friday, September 11, 2026 at 8:50:24 AM UTC-6 Scott Somershoe wrote:
>>>
>>>> I’ve been checking a Barn Swallow nest near my house in Littleton for
>>>> the last week. I was sure they would have fledged by today, but there are
>>>> still four young being fed by parents about every 30 seconds! Yes, today,
>>>> Sept 11.
>>>>
>>>> The latest nest with young in the 2nd Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas was
>>>> 9 Sept. This nesting attempt is definitely at the very tail end of nesting
>>>> and maybe the latest recorded nest with young in the state. Either way,
>>>> these youngins need to get a move on!
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Scott Somershoe
>>>> Littleton, JeffCo.
>>>>
>>>> [image: 1200.png]
>>>>
>>>> eBird Checklist - 11 Sep 2026 - Lilly Gulch Regional Trail--S Kipling
>>>> Pkwy to S Pierce St. - 20 species
>>>> <https://ebird.org/checklist/S391812245> >>>> ebird.org <https://ebird.org/checklist/S391812245> >>>> <https://ebird.org/checklist/S391812245> >>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>
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