The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Wildlife => Topic started by: Bramblecot on April 09, 2015, 11:33:34 pm
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Saw the first swallows of the year this afternoon, 2 sitting on the phone line :excited: . Hopefully they will be back to nest in the stables :fc:
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Lovely ;D I see from your profile you're in the deep south, so they've just staggered across the channel. It will be a week or so more before they make it up here. Just time to cover anything that doesn't want guano sprinkled all over it ::)
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First one arrived here in South Wales last weekend. :)
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We're in north Wales and saw our first last Sunday. :sunshine:
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I thought I saw one yesterday but told myself "too early" but will look closer today :thumbsup:
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Non here yet. But saying that they would get a shock if they where here as it's been snowing since 7am
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Non here yet. But saying that they would get a shock if they where here as it's been snowing since 7am
Oh my!! T shirt weather down here :sunshine: :sunshine:
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Put the second batch of lambs out in 20.6 degrees of sunshine yesterday, rain overnight and a chilly breeze today. Heard swallows on Thursday (Welsh Marches).
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T-shirt weather here the last few days, but a big change today - sun then wind, then rain, then sleet, then snow, then back to rain, and now sunny again - oops no it's raining again - no swallows as yet, and so cold for poor Andy and Kim's wedding. Hope they're wearing thermal undies :innocent:
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None spotted here in Powys, yet.
We had light snow showers this morning so maybe they're better off waiting a while.
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Yes!! Two swallows today is it summer? ;D
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We have swallows arrived today just south of Dartmoor! Always good to hear them chattering in the roof, means summer is on its way!
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Just saw one doing its happy aerobatics over the barn. I'm in southern Scotland, so mine must have hitched a lift on a passing plane ;D
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Reached central Perthshire today! Also house martins.
The hills are starting to come alive again. The waders have returned although numbers of curlew lapwing & oystercatcher all seem down on last year. Plenty of meadow pipits, a few wheatear, stonechats & whinchats, osprey & ringed ouzels back in their usual haunts. Just need hill lambing to start to show spring has finally arrived.
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Still no swallows here :(.
We have lived here for 6 years. There were no swallows, swifts or house martins until the last 2 years. We have been told that they used to be numerous but after the Foot and Mouth crisis they all vanished and they have only in the last few years started to return. No one really knows why but everyone was glad that they were returning.
But ..... none yet. :( :'(
My daughter comes home from school and everyday asks straight away whether I've spotted any. She loves them and sees them as the start of spring.
Where are they?
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They arrived here yesterday so opened up the stables so they have access.
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Saw our first housemartins yesterday - they did an aerial demo around the conservatory but then appear to have moved on. So not 'our' housemartins...
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Finally.... the first swallow was spotted yesterday evening here in the North Pennines :excited:
According to a quick search, last year this was on 15 April so they're only about 5 days later
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Beginning to worry as we are STILL waiting. Hope posting this might spur them on
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Swallows had arrived with us in the far south-west of Shropshire this weekend. Hopefully they will find the RSPB approved swallow nests we installed (as we have installed the missing first floor in our barn so they can no longer nest in the apex of the roof).
in the hills if they are with us west of Clun, they can't be too far from you just over the border...
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Our arrived at the weekend (south Somerset). Better get the garden furniture out of the barn quick!
:thumbsup:
Helen
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And our arrived yesterday. It took them an awfully long time to get from Dorset to Somerset but at least they are here now. :excited:
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Swallows just arrived west of Stirling :)
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Beginning to worry as we are STILL waiting. Hope posting this might spur them on
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Panic over. Swallow just swooped over my head while I was outside having my morning coffee :relief:
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first 2 arrived yesterday , we had 6 nests on the go last year so hopefully a few more pairs will get here soon
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Still no swallows. :(
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Swallows disappeared west of Stirling. No sign of them at all now. Maybe the new housing estate confused them after all :(
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No, there's something weird going on. We've got to May 4th and here in Southern Scotland we have only a single swallow, which arrived on April 16th. There were 2 but one's no longer there. We have had some southerly breezes so you'd think they'd come in on those. I wonder if something's gone wrong on their migration, or even before they left Africa.
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So I went outside again two hours after I had written the previous message, to find the sky full of the sound of very excited swallows - the girls have arrived :thumbsup:
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I think they arrive at "their" nesting site, check it out then cruise around for a while until they're ready to do some serious nest building and egg laying. "Ours" are flying in and out of the outbuildings used in previous years every evening but we don't see them during the day.