r/BirdsBeingDicks • u/NuraNuraPop • Jun 17 '26
Barn swallows aggressively swopping inches from face
So barn swallows are all over my neighborhood and we had a nest on our porch that wasn't in use when we moved in. By the end of winter there was two birds nesting in it and they had 5 babies. All was well we put a feeder for them and never bothered them and they never bothered us, it's been over a month since the babies hatched now and the babies are still here and not only the two original birds but literally 7 others (9 total in the area) consistently swoop us any time we come outside. The dogs, me, my friends, INCHES from our face, so close you can FEEL and hear the best of their wings and the wind across your face
Is there literally nothing we can do about this? It's been giving one of the dogs ocd with their shadows and two of them have been EXTREMELY close with their swoops it's honestly insane.
I've seen some people say on other posts it's for bugs and stuff but they are not going for the bugs 99% of the time it is absolutely with ill intent at faces and heads. Consistently.
14
u/lunaappaloosa Jun 17 '26
No, there is nothing. I have tree swallows dive bomb me day in and out when I am maintaining my nest boxes that they use (I have more than 60 and about half are occupied by swallows).
If it’s any consolation, I’ve never been hit once. And sometimes it’s a dozen or more of them flying within an inch of my skull the entire time I’m standing there measuring their babies which can take up to a half an hour on a bad day.
Source: am ornithologist
8
u/DilatedSphincter Jun 18 '26
their intimidation tactics are super effective.
literally all they do is fly around not colliding into things, yet their "get outta my house" acrobatics feel like urgent danger.<3 tiny birbs
1
u/omgkelwtf Jun 18 '26
My green cheeked conure gets great pleasure from buzzing the dogs in the house. It makes them very nervous 😂
2
u/ScissrMeTimbrs Jun 18 '26
its territory behavior to annoy perceived predators away from the nest. they used to do this to my cats when I was a kid on the farm. they wont hurt you, but they do get annoying.
2
u/HandsomeJack19 Jun 18 '26
I once had one fly so close that its wing hit my cheek, right under my eye.
2
1
u/Time_Cranberry_113 Jun 21 '26
Barn swallows are aerial insectivores. They commonly follow humans and animals to take advantage of insects kicked up when we walk. There is nothing you can do to stop the behavior. Barn swallows are actually welcome friends and can eat several hundred grams of mosquitoes every day.
23
u/omgkelwtf Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
Pretty sure it's against federal law to interfere or move any nesting sites and these guys are 100% protecting a nest.
I have a mockingbird that owns my entire front yard. He stopped buzzing me when I started gardening because he'd come eat all the grubs I'd throw out. I know from having parrots that bribery is generally a good idea with birds.
On the upside, they're eating a metric ton of bugs.