The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Wildlife => Topic started by: Penninehillbilly on April 10, 2025, 11:50:29 am
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2 swallows in the barn yesterday, early this year, cooler yesterday, hope they can find enough food.
I did wonder if they would be earlier with the East wind behind them.
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first one here 2 days ago ...
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First swallows and house martins have appeared here at Tipton's Croft (central Shropshire), hunting over the pond.
Bats (Daubenton's) have come out of their hibernation to hunt in the evening and night when the swallows and house martins have gone to bed.
A Mallard is sitting on a clutch of eggs on the island. Moorhens may also have a nest but we haven't found it yet.
No barn owls in the owl box this year by the looks of things (likely due to us having to move it when the tree it was in came down in a storm).
www.tiptonscroft.org.uk (http://www.tiptonscroft.org.uk)
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None here yet in South Lanarkshire though I'm straining my ears for them. They should wait until it rains tomorrow anyway so the mud sticks together 8)
Thanks to those who've posted as I was just about to ask if any swallows have arrived yet. Ospreys seem to be here in large numbers.
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So the very next day, as we sat by the pond watching our Koi play at seeing how far they could drift across the pond from one shove off, a battling couple of swallows came tumbling and shrieking right past our noses, nearly landing in the water.
Our swallows are back, all lovey-dovey now :love:
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Swallows arrived this afternoon, better than any medication, time to put down the paper mats again and fill up the mud puddle.
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Ours are late this year. Have just see the first one the morning. Still gives me a thrill every year! :excited:
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No sign yet in the North East of Scotland, well not here near Banff.
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I haven't really been looking out for, but was at one of my gardening clients last Thurs near Antony, North-east Cornwall and there seemed to be just one Swallow and just one House Martin scraping the sky over the old farm-yard. So nice to see them back.
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Our swallows, 3 pairs are doing fine, newly fledged chicks zooming about happily.
Not so good for the house martins. They arrived back safely and this year built a wonderful, strong nest. One chick fell out and died the day it hatched, but others hatched successfully, lots of cheeping coming from the nest. Then a couple of days ago, the nest was on the ground, ripped apart, presumably by a woodpecker or similar, and the chicks were gone, parents too. The parents came back today, all happy and chirping again, but it must be too late for them to start again, as they would have to build a new nest. This pair have had no luck raising young, but this year their nest was so good we thought they would be successful.
We need to think up a new plan to protect them from predators next year.
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We had a noisy pair nest in the garage, for the first time since we have been here (8 years). It was always going to be risky with a steel roof which can reach 56C in Summer- you need to wear a hat to work in there. So the two chicks hatched, which unfortunately coincided with a heatwave with outside temperatures hitting 40C. They both died the same day and the parents removed them from the nest and then disappeared for a week, returning today. I'm hoping they don't try again.
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That's really sad too, chrismahon :'(
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We had a noisy pair nest in the garage, for the first time since we have been here (8 years). It was always going to be risky with a steel roof which can reach 56C in Summer- you need to wear a hat to work in there. So the two chicks hatched, which unfortunately coincided with a heatwave with outside temperatures hitting 40C. They both died the same day and the parents removed them from the nest and then disappeared for a week, returning today. I'm hoping they don't try again.
Is there any way you can help them? A shade of some sort? I guess water is scarce so a sprinkler is impossible :'(
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The nest is immediately underneath the steel roof and a shade would be complicated. I really don't want to encourage them to be there because I have arc welding jobs to do regularly and can't while they are- it would blind them.
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Meanwhile, our house martins whose nest was robbed, started rebuilding their nest yesterday, July 19th. Does anyone know of dates for successful late broods?
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Our swallows often have later brood, bit worried for them, but they seem to manage ok, main thing here is lack of insect later on, September can be chilly.
I'm thinking house Martin will be about the same?
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I think you're right. They apparently have 2 to 3 broods a year, just like swallows, so perhaps mine will have a successful brood this year, so long as they finish the new nest pronto.
We are squabbling about how best to protect the nest from woodpeckers and possibly rats.
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Well all our swallows have departed, gone its all quiet. two weeks earlier than last year, it seems to get sooner every year.
But the pair of cranes that nested and brought up two offspring down on the edge of the hay field by the burn, have been active in the mornings picking away at the aftermath, its quite striking to see the adults standing next to a 4ft round bale they are as tall as the bale. Its like Jurassic park when they fly about and call out, looking like wee pterosaurs. Its a great sight looking out from my bed a six in the morning !