Living in harmony
Feathered friends return to downtown garden centre
A little brown swallow swoops and circles in the sky while keeping a close eye on her nest.
Hidden under the shade of large lush leaves and bell shaped blooms are five tiny brown-speckled eggs that belongs to a swallow family which recently took up residency at Kent Garden Centre on Water Street, Summerside.
Garden centre supervisor, Wendy Buchanan, remarked on the swallow family’s single-minded determination to return to their nesting places.
“We usually have at least one nest a year, although sometimes we’ve had up to three. They return every year, and this year the swallows are nesting in a perennial plant called Heuchera or coral bells,” said Buchanan. “The plant has big leaves and protects the nest nicely.”
Staff quarantine off the nest area with string and a caution sign to ensure
that customers don’t disturb it. “We see the mother once or twice a day. She comes back every night, and we know this because over five days we’ve had five consecutive eggs. She will start to stay on the nest more until they hatch, within 14 to 21 days, and then we will start seeing the babies.” The nest has proven to be a hit with customers, but once they hatch, the
little birds won’t be so cute.
“The babies are dark brown and mostly just eyes and beaks. They have tiny little bodies with huge heads,” explained Buchanan. “But it doesn’t take them long to feather out and they usually leave the nest within a month.”
Swallow families have been making their homes in this garden centre for almost 18 years.