Kitchen Garden Forum

I agree that swallow numbers seem to be down and they seem to be late. As a longstanding RSPB member I'm sorry to hear they were less than helpful. Citizen science such as the big garden birdwatch is usually very important. I think one of the reasons is that countries in southern Europe, notable Malta, also Cyprus though that's not on our flyway have a strong 'hunting' culture where they like to shoot small birds just for the hell of it. Malta recently held a referendum and hunting small birds is set to continue.
Global warming probably is a factor - the increasing temperature means the Sahara is getting wider and many birds are possibly just not managing to get across.
On a slightly different note, I haven't seen a single swift yet and would expect to by mid-May. I'm in Sunderland. For several years I've been logging sightings on the RSPB's website as they're running a project. Worrying.

We now have a pair of swifts screeching about the sky today.

...and the general level of birdsong around the gardens was the loudest I can recall for a long time this morning....no doubt helps that there wasn't half a gale whistling round our ears today.

The garden pond has cleared from its early season red bloom, the flies were skimming above and the rudd skimming below...then I caught sight of a flash of blue as a kingfisher flew up from bankside into the Portugese Laurel.

Clive.