Housemartins and swallows

sam vimes · Apr 14, 2016

I've not seen any mention so far this year. Saw my first batch of housemartins a couple of weeks ago during the Easter weekend. Saw my first swallow yesterday. Always nice to see them return. Hopefully the swifts turn up soon as a really good indicator that the weather is really on the up.

Mark Wintle · Apr 14, 2016

Swallows appeared in Dorset at the end of March (saw fieldfares the same day that have normally headed north by then) though lunching with some bird-watching friends today they said that a lot of the summer migrants are late and the ones that are turning up are not in great numbers.

sam vimes · Apr 14, 2016

Mark Wintle said:
Swallows appeared in Dorset at the end of March (saw fieldfares the same day that have normally headed north by then).

Amazing that your fieldfares hung on so long. I've been working outdoors on Yorkshire Wolds farms since the turn of the year. I've watched the redwings and fieldfares gather up and disappear during that time. All but the stragglers were gone by the beginning of March.

Pete Shears · Apr 14, 2016

Saw my first swallow of the year on March 31st whilst on the last piking trip until October

lambert1 · Apr 14, 2016

Housemartins used to be such a common sight and we used to get them down our road on virtually every house, but there have been none for some years now. I loved watching them build their nests

S-Kippy · Apr 14, 2016

As I said on the HDYGO thread we were up at Farmoor today and there were plenty of Martin's ( sand and house) but just a few swallows. The warden says the sand Martin's arrived first the week after Easter but it's only in the last week the swallows have started to appear. Plenty of food for them with the buzzer hatches starting....some of the early season Farmoor buzzers you could put a saddle on and ride.

Got home this evening just in time to see a sparrowhawk tear down the sideway and scare the living sh!t out of the dunnocks and tits in next door's apple tree. Missed the mark this time but hung about long enough for me to get a really good look at her Fantastic .

robtherake · Apr 14, 2016

The martins under the eaves of the flats just along the way are already busy. I saw a curlew yesterday; it flew parallel with the car for a couple of hundred yards so I got a really good look at it and hardly weaved about at all.

They're big birds, seen up close: well impressive.

no-one in particular · Apr 15, 2016

I have not seen any of the these birds yet; a Sparrow hawk in the garden last week but I only ever see the larger brown female, never the brighter coloured male, I don't know why.
Swifts usually only turn up in the hot weather here, sometimes as late as July. They fly right up to my window and I got this shot of one on the mobile last summer but they fly closer than this but they are too fast for me.

Ray Daywalker Clarke · Apr 15, 2016

We used to have house Martins nest every year in the road i live, not any more. House Martins can't build nests on PVC soffits, and as this is now the norm on all new houses, and many older houses changing to PVC to cut down on maintenance, House Martins are finding it harder to find good nesting sites.

Have seen both swallow's and House Martins around, but not in great numbers.

Hopefully as the weather warms up more will return.

sam vimes · Apr 15, 2016

As it's trying to snow and the gritters are out, I'll bet the hardy few that made it this far north are wishing they hadn't bothered.

The bad one · Apr 16, 2016

Not seen any in Gt M/c yet and I'm out most days birding. Chiffchaffs and blackcaps are back though as of last week. 3 weeks since I saw any redwings/fieldfare must have gone back Scandinavia

soft plastic · Apr 16, 2016

Saw a swallow yesterday. Spotted at Godnow, near Crowle, Lincolnshire.

Steve Appleford · Apr 18, 2016

Saw the first swallow about a week and a half ago on the K@A canal ,bit of the Thames we favour with the boat always has a couple of pairs of Hobbies on and they are not normally far behind the Martins and Swallows
Proper show offs are is the Hobbie and they often whoosh over our shoulders as we chug up the river

Housemartins and swallows

sam vimes

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Mark Wintle

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sam vimes

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Pete Shears

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lambert1

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S-Kippy

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robtherake

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no-one in particular

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Ray Daywalker Clarke

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sam vimes

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The bad one

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soft plastic

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Steve Appleford

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