The Swallows are late arriving this year

Smiley G · Post by **Smiley G** » Mon 21 Mar 2016 15:56

Has anyone seen any Swallows/Martins (Hirondelles) this year? They're normally flying around nest-building by now.

rainbow · Post by **rainbow** » Mon 21 Mar 2016 18:56

There's a pair in Thuir seen them today 21st March

Post by **Kate** » Mon 21 Mar 2016 19:47

They usually arrive to nest in our porch around April.

martyn94 · Post by **martyn94** » Mon 21 Mar 2016 22:34

Kate wrote:They usually arrive to nest in our porch around April.

They nested in my bedroom a couple of years ago (I was away, and hadn't shut the window properly) and I didn't have the heart to evict them. I moved to the spare room and spread some plastic on the floor. Well worth it to keep them around. I only wish that my bats would come back.

sue and paul · Post by **sue and paul** » Tue 22 Mar 2016 11:16

martyn94 wrote:
Kate wrote:They usually arrive to nest in our porch around April.
They nested in my bedroom a couple of years ago (I was away, and hadn't shut the window properly) and I didn't have the heart to evict them. I moved to the spare room and spread some plastic on the floor. Well worth it to keep them around. I only wish that my bats would come back.

That's really sweet, saving the swallows. As for bats.....well....mine never left

Lesley McL · Post by **Lesley McL** » Tue 22 Mar 2016 13:10

Saw my first swallow of the year yesterday, along with house and crag martins - just flying through I think. Are they especially late? I wouldn't expect to see many before April.

montgolfiere · Post by **montgolfiere** » Tue 22 Mar 2016 15:59

saw one yesterday...

martyn94 · Post by **martyn94** » Tue 22 Mar 2016 16:43

sue and paul wrote:
martyn94 wrote:
Kate wrote:They usually arrive to nest in our porch around April.
They nested in my bedroom a couple of years ago (I was away, and hadn't shut the window properly) and I didn't have the heart to evict them. I moved to the spare room and spread some plastic on the floor. Well worth it to keep them around. I only wish that my bats would come back.
That's really sweet, saving the swallows. As for bats.....well....mine never left

I'm not in general sweet: I just couldn't see myself destroying a nest with eggs in it. Just as well: a little subsequent googling shows that I would have been exposed to a large fine or 6 months in jug. And also that house martins are "hirondelles de fenêtre", which is rather nice.

I am no kind of birder, but they have given me enormous pleasure over decades. But the little bastards have a dozen other nesting sites around my house, so I don't feel at all guilty about getting my bedroom back.

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