Swallows

sam vimes · Apr 12, 2013

I meant to post this earlier but forgot all about it.
I was fishing at my local on Wednesday. Got chatting to someone and mentioned that when the swallows show up perhaps the lake would warm up and show some signs of life. Within half an hour of saying it, six swallows showed up and started working over the water. A little later, still in broad daylight, they were joined by a pipistrelle bat. No sign of any fish though, but it's a start.

no-one in particular · Apr 13, 2013

Very nice Sam. I have not seen a swallow yet, I imagine they will be late this year so, you done well to see some. In Sep or Oct I fish a little stream in a valley on the south coast. As the swallows and martins migrate back to Africa they stream through this valley in concentrations. I have sat there surrounded by hundreds of these birds for hours. Every time I look up there are just hundreds of them flitting along above the grass, one of my most amazing sights on the calendar.

The swallows probably herald the warming up of the weather which in turn will signify the warming up of the water and better fishing. Lets hope so.

nicepix · Apr 13, 2013

Just heard the first cuckoo this morning although friends have heard them over the last few days. The first swallows passed up river three weeks ago and they are gathering in numbers around the farm. The weather hasn't been much good though.

Peter Jacobs · Apr 13, 2013

sam vimes said:
I meant to post this earlier but forgot all about it.
I was fishing at my local on Wednesday. Got chatting to someone and mentioned that when the swallows show up perhaps the lake would warm up and show some signs of life. Within half an hour of saying it, six swallows showed up and started working over the water. A little later, still in broad daylight, they were joined by a pipistrelle bat. No sign of any fish though, but it's a start.

Its a jolly good start I think, and way overdue as well.

We haven't yet seen any Swallows down here on my stretches of the Avon but we live in hope, well the village of Durrington actually . . . . .

This morning though is bright and sunny and a few birds are visiting my bird table in the garden, so hopefully a sign of better weather to come.

Mart Smith · Apr 13, 2013

I was fishing a new club water yesterday, and was suprised by a pair of swallows - the first I've seen here in Essex!

flightliner · Apr 13, 2013

nicepix said:
The first swallows passed up river three weeks ago and they are gathering in numbers around the farm. The weather hasn't been much good though.
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Nicepix,
I remember you saying on here a few weeks back that you had seen some down your way and thought of you a few days later when I was in northern Italy where I saw a few skimming over some very flat farmland.
Yesterday I was driving home from Sheffield town centre and on a whim detoured down to the river Rother at Catcliffe/Treeton where they had those awfull floods in 07, all the trees growing into the water had been taken out with the chainsaw in order to lesson the chance of flooding and while watching heard some birds above me , when I looked up there where what must have amounted to a dozen or so swallows.
Late but lovely to see.

no-one in particular · Apr 14, 2013

Re: Photographing Swifts?

While we are on the subject; where I live high up on the top floor of a block, the Swifts arrive late, maybe June or even July. I can hang out the window and they fly straight towards me and at the last minute veer away, maybe two feet from me. I tried to photograph them once without success using an ordinary camera. They are fast but, I would love to get a shot of them in flight?

mark brailsford 2 · Apr 14, 2013

Bit of a change of subject, but on Wednesday I was in Blackburn walking along the River Darwen and I noticed loads of Long Tailed Tits feeding on the midges in the newly emerging Willows and thought to myself, well, spring is here at last

Chris Hammond ( RSPB ACA PAC} · Apr 14, 2013

mark brailsford 2 said:
Bit of a change of subject, but on Wednesday I was in Blackburn walking along the River Darwen and I noticed loads of Long Tailed Tits feeding on the midges in the newly emerging Willows and thought to myself, well, spring is here at last

One of my absolute favourites! It's difficult to imagine a more striking little bird.

I've not noticed any swallows yet, but I may just have missed them. We get them quite early usually. I think the high insect rate brought about by the large numbers of stables locally attracts them.

wagglechance · Apr 14, 2013

on an unrelated note i saw a jet black pheasant the day. looked quite striking with his little red ear thingys! bit of a treat.

Chris Hammond ( RSPB ACA PAC} · Apr 14, 2013

wagglechance said:
on an unrelated note i saw a jet black pheasant the day. looked quite striking with his little red ear thingys! bit of a treat.

We seem to get quite a few of the melanistic blues around here now. They tell me the shooters prefer them because they fly higher and faster than the standard pheasants. When I first saw one a couple of years back I thought I'd discovered a new species.

mark brailsford 2 · Apr 14, 2013

Chris Hammond ( RSPB ACA PAC} said:
One of my absolute favourites! It's difficult to imagine a more striking little bird.

I've not noticed any swallows yet, but I may just have missed them. We get them quite early usually. I think the high insect rate brought about by the large numbers of stables locally attracts them.

Thanks for that mate,
My other half is only just getting to know the birds around her since she met me. She adored those little birds and could not believe how close we could get to them (my Bushcraft skills help a little

) she still cannot believe how many Buzzard there are around her place and loves it when I call them and they call back!

Alan Campbell · Apr 15, 2013

I saw 2 swallows at Oakfield Fishery yesterday. Didn't see many fish though

broomy · Apr 15, 2013

Yes saw two on Middlesbrough AC pond Hutton Rugby north yorks Saturday afternoon.
Caught a nice 3lb tench three ide around the 2lb mark and a dozen small roach. The big fish certainly don't appear to be feeding much as yet, the ponds normally well muddied even in winter. At present its quite clear. Fish caught on double red maggot to 0.12mm hook length and B520 #18 hook. Fished with a Drennan still water blue set with bait just touching bottom.
One #6 shot at mid depth (3') and one #8 six inches from the hook. Four/six maggots catapulted out every other cast.
Also had bats flying around the house yesterday evening when it was light. Also saw one two weeks ago flying around Barnard Castle beside the river in the weak sunshine we had that day.It was bitterly cold but sunny.

dorsetandchub · Apr 15, 2013

We have Dartford warblers and nightjars here. Can't believe how lucky I am.

flightliner · Apr 15, 2013

Chris Hammond ( RSPB ACA PAC} said:
They tell me the shooters prefer them because they fly higher and faster than the standard pheasants.

Not to sure they are 100% correct Chris. On the estate where I do some beating they have both and when you see them flying together when flushed its a hard call.
Have you seen one of the albino's yet?
Plug one of them in your excitement and its fifty sovs to the estate!.

S-Kippy · Apr 15, 2013

Off topic a bit but I used to fish a lake that occasionally threw up what I presume were melanistic perch. Jet black all over with the most brilliant scarlet fins. Incredible looking things.

Back on topic...not a sniff of anything remotely resembling a swallow round my way yet.Mrs S swore she heard a cuckoo Sat morning but it turned out to be a donkey.

jack sprat · Apr 15, 2013

John Levell reported on his Avon Diary that he'd recently found two dead buzzards that appear to have starved to death, the rabbit population having plummeted.

sam vimes · Apr 15, 2013

Had a wander round this evening, not a swallow to be seen. Then, as the wind dropped and dusk approached, a load of swallows and martins turned up. Shame that there doesn't seem to be much in the way of insect hatches going on. Hopefully that will start soon, partly to get the fish moving and partly to avoid the swallows starving to death.

markhib · Apr 17, 2013

sam vimes said:
I meant to post this earlier but forgot all about it.
I was fishing at my local on Wednesday. Got chatting to someone and mentioned that when the swallows show up perhaps the lake would warm up and show some signs of life. Within half an hour of saying it, six swallows showed up and started working over the water. A little later, still in broad daylight, they were joined by a pipistrelle bat. No sign of any fish though, but it's a start.

Down here in North London, I saw a pipistrelle on 2 separate days last week. One in bright sunshine, the other in broad daylight being chased by a small hawk. The hawk couldn't get near it and eventually gave up.
Mark

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