Swallow

[Monika]

We may have had "wet days" the last three days in the NW here but it has mainly been just persistent drizzle in the wind which has produced less than 1mm of rain! Anything shaded by foliage is still bone dry underneath, in fact, I turned a wad of manure over on the allotment today whilst hoeing and that was quite dry.

[Geoff]

Found young Swallow on the garage floor today so popped it back in the nest with its siblings, it promptly climbed out onto a beam, must be the delinquent of the brood. I think there are 4. Not my best pictures but I can't resist them each year.

Swallow_2.jpg (136.83 KiB) Viewed 2296 times

Swallow_1.jpg (132.07 KiB) Viewed 2296 times

[DiG]

Geoff, your swallows are way ahead of ours. My neighbour's pair also have young like yours, but our pair are still building their nest. We are still watching them to-ing and fro-ing collecting mud from the river bank and the nest is still wet. Hopefully it isn't too late for them to raise a brood.

[Geoff]

All four fledged last couple of days, flying all over the place this morning, time to keep the back door closed as the kitchen is often visited instead of the garage. Was going to build Sugar Snaps frame today but they have taken to roosting on my cane bundle so will have to wait a few days.

[Johnboy]

We have, I think, 18 pairs of Swallows this year and I was away for the weekend and the last two pairs young have fledged this morning. With an average of four young from each pair you can imagine that there is a flying mayhem here at present. The power line looks like they are preparing to migrate. The pairs will have maybe three broods and some four that is one hell of a lot of Swallows. Most years the broods disperse before the next brood has fledged but come Autumn they all seem to come back for the migration. Normally the fourth brood fledge and immediately they can fly they are off to warmer climbes. Last year the first flight of the last brood fledged at 9am and there was no sign of any Swallows by 10am.
JB.