Thread: Cliff swallows?
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Old 09-14-2017, 07:28 AM
FCLightning FCLightning is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
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Next to pigeons, barn swallows are perhaps the messiest, dirtiest birds there are. But we let them be in the yard anyway because we enjoy seeing them and the young develop - one nest is over the back door of the house just 5 ft. from the kitchen window. Having to pressure wash the step, door and side of the house every year after the young have fledged is a small price to pay for the close up views.
The only real way to encourage them is to not discourage them. Most folks aggressively wash down the nests to prevent the birds from setting up shop so they don't have the dirty mess around, but if you leave them be they will return every year.
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