Grubs Up

Hi everyone,

I managed to finish the mother bird today and add in the last few shadows so here is the finished painting and the story that goes with it.


Life at the moment is more than a little crowded in the barn swallows nest. The babies are growing fast. Their baby down has almost gone and they will soon be ready to leave the nest. The lack of space at the moment makes feeding time especially challenging. Each time a parent returns there is a tussle for the prime feeding spot as a sea of mouths opened wide. As mum returns once again with some food the two most well behaved babies of the family are sat nicely at the front of the nest with their fluffy little wings neatly folded beside them. They would not dream of pushing their siblings out of the way. They have their mouths wide open ready to be fed just as their mother has told them to do. The most demanding of the family however is determined to be noticed and to get his beak in front of them. The oldest baby is feeling fed up because he is not being offered the food this time. In his annoyance he decides to block the baby of the family from getting closer to the food. For the baby there is simply ‘no room at the inn’

Ona