Why do birds make nest on some houses and not others?

[LaFemmeFatale_1]

I spent my summers in my the village.

In my grandparents’ summer villa, there was a swallow nest 🪹 on top of our main door.

We had cats 🐈 and a dog 🐕 at home but these swallows 🐦 felt safe enough to nest 🪺 with us and not on other neighboring houses.

They even stayed after we renovated the house, my grandpa didn’t touch their nest, even though the birds were gone on winter “holidays” to the warmer countries.

They still stayed after the changes.

They had their nest there for many years.

One summer, after I was 16, they didn’t return back though…

I waited for them but they never came back.

I wonder why…

Is that because my grandpa and grandma got older and they no longer felt secure to be sheltered there?

Did anything happen to them?

It has always stayed a mystery to me.

I was used to having them there and I loved seeing them growing up and calling the home to the same place that was home to me.

[OfMiceandMen]

Certain bird species like the swallow species in the photo adapted over 100's of years to take advantage of human structures. They build those mudnests up under cover so the kids stay dry and safe. It also affords some concealment/protection from predators as the other birds tend to stay away from human structures so it duo fold.

We see this in a variety of settings. Barn Swallows tend to utilize farmstead barns to nest in. They will actually nest directly in the rafter of the barns with livestock and don't even mind when the farmer enters the barn to tend to the livestock. Similarly, Chimney Swifts (another swallow species) utilize manmade chimneys and communally nest (sometimes 20 or 30 swifts in once chimney) directly inside the chimney during the summer months.

Few other birds, would do this and not too many other birds are willing to enter a chimney to prey on the young in these conditions.

They likely moved to a different location in the same town/area where there was less foot traffic. Birds have a high fidelity when it comes to nesting areas, meaning they tend to return to the same location, thereabouts, each year. More than likely, the brood/offspring of those birds that originally took up residents at your grandparents place are nesting nearby.

[OfMiceandMen]

my bad..."residence".

[Christoff92]

Because of heat ventilators keep their youngs fully incubated.

[love_conquers_lust]

Ornithologist might have better answer. I imagine:

-Seek high ground with a good vantage point

-Sheltered from the elements such as high winds ie. a wind break

-Static location

-Close to food source

There is also probably an element of luck to it as there are probably multiple locations that meet basic criteria

[Bklynbadboy12]

I don't know but they say when a bird makes a nest on your house it's a good omen

[Still-alive]

You are the chosen ones!

[LaFemmeFatale_1]

Aww 🥰

Maybe my grandpa and grandma were 😇🥰

[Still-alive]

Yeah we get birds perching outside our house too… and then our cat hunts them lol woops 😅

[Anonymous]

I think its entirely random.