Free seeds and bird watch
Then... AG in 1959 and Now... AG in 2020
WITH their long pointed wings and forked tails, swallows are often mistaken for swifts or house martins, but they may be recognised by their metallic bluish-black back and wings and similarly coloured chest band. They also have a chestnut forehead and throat, the female’s colouration being a little duller than the male’s.
No spring migrants give more joy, for they are such sociable creatures, forever twittering and never wandering far from the outbuildings to which they return to nest.
Their saucer-shaped nest, made of straw, feathers and mud, is placed on a beam, rafter or other support, and any building where the birds may come and go freely suits them well.
The elongated eggs have very thin white shells speckled with reddishbrown. Two broods are raised annually.
B Melville Nicholas
EVERY year, in late March and early April, I wander around with eyes to the skies, looking for the year’s first sighting of a swallow.
These joyous little birds, with their agility and musical chittering are, for many, a sign that summer is upon us – even though the sight of one doesn’t guarantee the onset of warmer weather! Swallows are known for their perpetual busyness, swooping low over fields and skimming water in their quest for insects, then soaring to immense heights to hang out with martins and swifts.
What amazes me most about these little gregarious chatterers is how far they travel. They overwinter in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent, covering up to 200 miles a day during migration and feeding on the wing – not, as Monty Python would have it, feeding on coconuts carried by their husk!
Many are lost on this pilgrimage, and numbers are further declining due to adverse climate change and changes to farming practices.
Now they are preparing to head south once more, mustering on wires before their final farewell, taking summer with them.
Ruth Hayes