I love having swallows staying for the summer, in spite of the copious guano deposited on everything in the barn. They seemed slow to arrive and start nest building this year but soon got going. Bodger, the lovely moist contents of your pig pen probably made all the difference to nest building when the mud outside was rock hard.
I love the fact that the baby swallows aren't remotely bothered by having people just below their nests, and the adults get very annoyed when a person dares to get in their way as they fly back and forth so busily with beakfuls of daddy long legs and other insects. Then there's the day those chubby youngsters which have been hanging over the edge of the nest decide to give flying a go. They have such fun swooping about calling excitedly to each other. makes me wish I could fly. We have 6 or 7 nests here this year, in spite of the evil cat catching a parent early on, and at least two still have chicks in - one lot should fledge any minute, the other is a few days behind.
Shygirl - swallows nests look like mowhaugh's pic, with an open top, usually inside a building, and red fronted black and white babies. Martins tend to nest outside the building, maybe under a gutter, and their nests are almost complete, with a single access hole right at the top. Martins are black and white but have no red on. We had a martin nest last year but they didn't make it back this time around.
Cross posted with Sue