One Swallow (doesn't make a summer)

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I've been away from base for a week and things have moved on a bit. The weather is still cold for the time of the year. daytime temps of 8C seem on the chilly side for May.

The cold weather hasn't put off the migrants and we have now seen the first swallow.


Swallows have been seen on the coast round here for a week or two but it takes them a while to brave the chillier upland temps. These birds overwinter in sub Saharan Africa, and are more correctly called "Barn Swallows". We have been seeing close relatives of the swallow (House Martin and Sand Martin) for a week or two but they do usually precede swallows. The next things to look out for will be the swifts.
Swallows nest on the side of the house some years but not others. Occasionally they use last years nest - sometimes they build another. There seems to be plenty of evidence that swallow populations are on the decline nationally.
Here is a photo of an old nest from last year made of mud and under the porch of the kitchen door.

Its interesting that knowledge about migration is so recent. Even a respected naturalist as famous as Gilber White writing in the 1780s thought that swallows might hibernate during the winter!




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