This was mentioned in today's Daybreak Community Update:

QUOTE:
You may have noticed swallows that have nested under the bridges on11400 S. The Association has looked into these particular birds and they are federally protected species of bird and we are not able to tamper with the nests until after they migrate this fall. Once the birds have migrated we will go through the area and clean up their nests.

It's VERY important that we do EVERYTHING we can to keep the swallows here at Daybreak!

Every day, a cliff swallow eats 3 POUNDS of mosquitoes (and other flying insects). The swallows are the BEST way to keep the mosquito population under control and we should do everything we can to encourage them to stay here and make Daybreak their home.

Here is a Wikipedia article about them:

Cliff Swallow: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here is the article giving the estimate of insects that a swallow can eat each day:

Don’t be a Hoser or The Swallows of California

If any of you have any power with the HOA, please get the word out about how helpful these birds can be.

This last weekend we noticed a little swallow that comes around at dusk and sits on the upper ledge of one of our porch columns. He can't be seen from the street, only if you are sitting on the porch. He doesn't mind if we come or go, talk, or sit on the porch to read. He just settles in for the night and ignores us.

Mike and I took some photos and video of the swallows under the bridge. You can see them here:

The Swallows of Daybreak

We were very quiet and stood very still under the nests in order to get these photos. If you want to see the same thing, it will just take a little patience.

Aren't we so lucky to have the swallows nest here? The lake must be turning out to be very healthy in order to attract cliff swallows.

Yeah, I didn't really understand what was wrong with swallow nests under the bridge, either. Maybe a whole colony of pidgeons would be a nuisance, but isn't the lake meant to become a wildlife ecosystem?

Maybe the HOA is just upset that the birds are living in Daybreak without paying any dues.

Mark

I'm guessing that it's not that anybody sees anything wrong with it, but more so to let people know to leave them alone which I hope people do. As it is, my husband and I had to get after a group of little girls last night who were throwing large rocks at the ducks on the lake and coming quite close to hitting them. What is wrong with people that they'd let their children (I believe their parents were nearby) try to hurt animals??? This isn't the first time we've seen it happen either, unfortunately. I'm just happy that us speaking up gave the ducks a chance to get away. The swallows wouldn't stand a chance if someone chose to disturb them, but at least anyone who does disturb them can be held responsible.