A mud nest

It was really cool outside this morning so the hubby and I had a quick breakfast, packed up some water and snacks then headed over to the Palmetto Trail at the little town of Peak.   We have walked here many times and went to this location hoping to see the eagles or ospreys that usually fly around the bridge area.   The bridge is an old railroad bridge over the Broad River where the eagles like to eat.      We didn't see the eagle but we did see a young buzzard sitting on the bridge.  His photo is in the extras.  

We walked about 2 miles beyond the bridge and had to pass under a bridge that goes over Crims Creek.   We saw the swallows flying around and when I looked up to try to get a photo (which is pretty impossible as they are always moving!) we saw the nests all along the underside of the bridge.   There were probably 25 or 30 nests just like the ones in my photo.   These are made of mud and are the homes of cliff swallows I think as they usually build nests around bodies of water.   I found a little video that I am sharing here too as it was so fascinating to watch the building process.  [url=https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/cliff-swallows-build-nests-from-mud/]swallow nest building[/url]

It was good to be out on the trail as I know my days of walking long distances are going to stop as the summer heat comes to us!