I have seen people post about this behavior in the past. I was able to see it for myself this morning. 

I was at Kendall Lake this morning in the Cuyahoga Valley. I saw two barn swallows dropping/catching a downy feather near the lake. These birds are such fantastic flyers. Seeing them playing with the feather was even more fun. At one point one of the swallows landed near the edge of the lake on the grass where there were Canada Geese. The swallow picked up a big goose feather for a moment. The brown feather was bigger than the swallow. But, it quickly abandoned it for a smaller downy one.

I think they are nesting somewhere in the stone building. There is a nest on the side of the building. But, the birds kept going down below where the restrooms were located.

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