Swallows

All free living creatures around our Homes & Gardens - enjoying helping them helping us
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Gwenoakes
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Swallows

Post by Gwenoakes »

I have seen 3 swallows over the last few days, anyone else seen any?
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Mo
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Re: Swallows

Post by Mo »

I saw my first on Easter Saturday. My daughter says they are repairing a nest in the stable.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
Freeranger
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Re: Swallows

Post by Freeranger »

Slightly lower down from us there were swallows around Easter but not near us, so we were really worried that ours weren't coming back. (There 's been a lot of tree felling, which has changed the landscape and done away with some old nesting sites, and also quite lot of rain to make feeding difficult.) But here they are again! Three of them in the last week. So pleased.
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Spreckly
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Re: Swallows

Post by Spreckly »

Not seen any as yet. Chilly here still, not far from the North Sea!
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Mo
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Re: Swallows

Post by Mo »

My daughter came this morning to get my tall step ladder to rescue a swallow. When she went to let the horses out it was hanging from the nest by one wing. Hardly moving - breathing but not attempting to get free.
By the time we'd got back into the field it had gone, she said its mate had flown into the stable as she came to get the steps. So they must have sorted it between them.
How it got stuck we had no idea.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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Spreckly
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Re: Swallows

Post by Spreckly »

I don't think I have seen any swallows, but I have house martins nesting above the study window. They don't come every year, but this year they are swooping down.

yike* Yesterday I found bits of moss over the back door mat. When I looked up, I found some bird was building a nest above my door. I managed to remove the moss, no bird, no eggs, and then discovered the start of another one further down the carport. We did have pigeons trying to nest in the guttering, but Ted blocked it all up. They also tried the garage!

When my Father was alive, swallows nested above his back door, and were rather unpleasant, skimming the top of his head, and dive bombing him in the garden!!
Gwenoakes
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Re: Swallows

Post by Gwenoakes »

At our previous house we had a courtyard with a wall, the house and barns and the swallows always used to nest in the barns and when either of the two cats we had dared to walk up the courtyard they were dive bombed by both parents. The look on the cat's faces was a picture to behold as they used to hug the wall for protection trying to get back into the house.
They tried it only sometimes with our Staffy, Bella but not every time like the cats.
Just remembered that when we lived in Australia the magpies used to nest in the trees near our house which was out in the bush and they were terrible at dive bombing us and anyone else that dared to walk under where they were nesting. It used to hurt too, so we used a piece of cardboard above our heads when we went out.
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Mo
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Re: Swallows

Post by Mo »

We used to have house martins nest under our eaves, but not for many years
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
Freeranger
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Re: Swallows

Post by Freeranger »

House Martens used to dive bomb our cat too. He was a Persian with big round eyes, and some people said he looked like an owl, so maybe that was part of it as they didn't bother the other one. This year is fab for birds - loads of gorgeous little things like firecrests and goldfinches.
Gwenoakes
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Re: Swallows

Post by Gwenoakes »

The swallows here seem to have disappeared, not seen any anywhere over the last two days.
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Spreckly
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Re: Swallows

Post by Spreckly »

My house martins are backwards and forwards as I type this. No sound of babies, but there must be some hatched, the parents are flying in and out of the nest none stop.
Gwenoakes
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Re: Swallows

Post by Gwenoakes »

Swallows are back and flying around but as yet no nest building in the stables, which is unusual.
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Spreckly
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Re: Swallows

Post by Spreckly »

The house martins continue to dive around. Goodness knows how many clutches they have laid. I have a lot of their detritus, and am waiting for my neighbour to pressure wash the window off once they have left. Personally, I cannot wait!
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Spreckly
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Re: Swallows

Post by Spreckly »

My kind neighbour arrived on Saturday morning with a bucket, a shovel, an extending window brush, and cleaned the awful mess from my study window )t' )t' It took him around half an hour. He also removed the house martins' nest, which was empty. I see my earlier post was the beginning of June, so they have been busy!!l

In the end I decided the birds were just coming home to roost. No sign of them gathering on the wires as yet.

Lovely to sit without one curtain drawn to shut out the mess!
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Spreckly
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Re: Swallows

Post by Spreckly »

Spotted the house martins flying up to their nest site this morning! The cheek of it.
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