Every year Swallows nest in the stables on the farm, often reusing old nests and occasionally building new ones. They'll usually have lay a couple of clutches each Summer and are very successful.

It appears there are two families nesting side by side. A couple of years ago there was some serious rivalry resulting in the deaths of several chicks as one family raided the other incurring retaliations. But once their differences and territorial disputes were settled, both families successfully raised their young. Nothing like that had happened before or since. Perhaps a new family had moved in and were establishing their own territory?

This year the two pairs (one nesting in one stable, another in the hay store) both had two clutches. The second batch are close to fledging in a week or so. For reasons there aren't apparent before the second batch of eggs were laid, one family built a new nest in a different part of the stable to lay their eggs.

This was the one I set my microphones up by. After very carefully placing a pair of DPA 4060s either side of the nest, running cables to the floor to a Sound Devices 744T and pressing record, I made a hasty retreat. I've recorded very intimate sounds of the parents flying in and out feeding their young with the various insects they had collected. I have several hours of recordings. As I went in to de-rig, I listened in to hear a buzzing insect fly past the mics to be promptly eaten. I was too late pressing record and missed the event. Annoyed about that but oh well!

It's not the first time I recorded the Swallows nesting. Here's a recording from 2011 (one of my first) recorded with Microphone Madness BSM-9 omni pair to Zoom H2: