Swallows Fly Free

Yesterday morning the first of the chicks took off for their first flight and by the end of the day they were all flying around like crazy. My best count is 6 chicks. They took off in flight like it was what they were born to do, they would fly around the yard, zipping and swooping, you could tell they were lovin' life and pretty proud of themselves...then they would try to land...they were not born to do that! It was like a blooper real of bird crash landings. They crashed into the birdhouses, fell behind the birdhouses, missed the eve of the house, got stuck behind the hose rack, it was all pretty funny to watch. The parents were very protective yesterday, I was sitting in one of my normal spots and one the parents landed on my shoulder and fluttered like mad, no pecking or scratching but it was definitely making a statement. This morning the birds were too scattered to get good pictures of them together. The chicks still seem to be dependent of the parents for food. They appear to follow the parents around trying to get bugs from them. They seem to be pretty aggressive in this action. They are all pretty active around the house, I wonder how long until they start leaving?