I had an extremely enjoyable session with a pair of Welcome Swallows last week at one of my favourite spots, Fernglade Reserve, near Burnie in Tasmania. Love it when these birds come back to Tassie! I threw a few chook feathers around near where I'd spied a pair collecting tree roots. I was curious to see if they would even be interested in them as, although I couldn't get under the bridge to see their particular nest, I assumed they were still building the cup.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say it was the female (based on slightly paler colour) who showed the most interest, in fact she was extremely excited. The male ignored them, squawked at her, and continuined his collection of tree roots. I could almost hear him saying, "we can't put the carpet in yet dear, the walls aren't up", or something like that. Then.... all the feathers blew over the edge of the bank and there went my little experiment of sorts 
. Luckily all of them mustn't have been blown into the river as I got one shot of her as she peeked over the bank with feather prize in beak, stubbornly ignoring her partners common sense.
So, from the beginning:
Mr Welcome Swallow was most industrious, and ended up stuffing in as many twigs and roots as he could on each trip.
Mrs Welcome Swallow was not going to let such a lovely feather disappear down the river.
After all his hard work, Mr Welcome Swallow pauses for a quick rest and a stretch.
Mrs Welcome Swallow was not quite as industrious as her partner. More often than not, she only had one twig, root or something in her beak. She honestly looked worn out, all that egg formation going on inside perhaps? I half expected her to perch with one little wing in the middle of her back and one on her mid-section, a-la expectant human.
After seeing these guys, I was wondering exactly how eggs are formed. I mean I know HOW 
, but how long does it take etc etc, a bit more of the nitty gritty. Not having a particularly scientifically wired mind myself, I found the site below particularly informative (not about Aus birds specifically though) and even better, easy to understand. Link attached for anyone's interest.
Wonderful photos and a charming description of the little couple hard at work - nest building probably does cause a few domestic squabbles!
All are great photos, I really love those last two.
Quality photographs again Annie. I always enjoy looking at your photographs you have a very distinctive style. I have named it "AnnieJ clarity" and it takes some doing to match. I particularly like that last shot especially the colour of the background and that is a great perch.
There are two birds in particular that I find are difficult to photograph easily if that makes sense. One being the Welcome Swallow and the other the Rainbow Lorikeet. Can't explain it any other way.
Samford Valley Qld.
Such dear little birds, wonderfully captured as always Annie.
Thanks all, they are such cuties. Looking at these photo's today, I'm wondering if I have labelled the him/her ones correctly - oh well, don't suppose it is the end of the world if I mucked up there
, so hard to tell them apart once you get home.
Hey Reflex, do you mean you find them difficult because they just never seem to be in the right spot at the right time for you, or....? Just curious.
West Coast Tasmania
Delightful photos with amazing clarity! Lovely to know the story behind the photos too! I love these incredible little birds.
Happy Birding!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138588528@N02/
Just magic shots Annie.