Nature Notebook

High-Flying Swallows

We used to think that they spent winter in the mud at the bottom of lakes. Now we know better...

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Worcestershire Wildlife Trust @WorcsWT t worcestershirewildlifetrust G worcswildlifetrust.co.uk w The saying goes that one swallow does not a summer make but seeing my first swallow of the year, usually in April, makes my heart sing. Our chattering friends have returned from their winter sun and will brighten up our skies for the next few months.

We once knew very little about where birds went during winter but in the early 20th century a small metal ring was fitted to the leg of a swallow – the bird was discovered in South Africa 18 months later. Whilst ringing is still used we now have satellite tracking systems and our knowledge of birds’ migration is growing every year. Take swallows as an example. Each spring and autumn they make an epic journey in order to maximise their opportunity for staying alive. Migration is mind-blowing when you think about it – a swallow weighs about 20g (about the same weight as a fun size chocolate bar) and flies 6000 miles twice a year. The journey is fraught with dangers from weather systems to illegal hunting. The journey takes them up to six weeks and they fly almost non-stop, occasionally pausing to refuel.

Imagine crossing the Sahara and the Pyrenees and ending up in your garage, barn or other outbuildings. Not only do they make these amazing journeys but they return to the area that they were born in; if you’ve had swallows in the past, they’ll keep coming back. Using your space as a base, they’ll head out to water bodies or meadows and farmlands to hunt for insects, which they catch as they fly at speeds up to 35mph.

Whilst swallow numbers are not declining at the rates of some of our other birds, we can still help to give them a boost. If you’ve got an outbuilding, why not leave a small opening for them? It could be a window or even a door - it only needs to be 50mm high and 200mm wide – that will allow them to access the upper area of the building and make a nest of mud with a feather and straw lining. They’ll also need somewhere to collect that mud so if we have a particularly dry spring and summer, why not overwater a patch of flower bed or even create a small bog garden? They also need plenty to eat so if you’re able to make your garden or local community greenspace as insectfriendly as possible – leaving an area of lawn uncut, planting lots of nectar and pollen rich plants, creating a log pile in a shady area – you’ll really be helping all our wildlife.

Wild About Gardens is a collaboration between The Wildlife Trusts and Royal Horticultural Society and is focusing this year on helping our high-flying birds – swallows, house martins, swifts and sand martins. Why not head to our website www.worcswildlifetrust. co.uk/blog/seasonal-spot/saving-our-high-fliers to find more information and download a free booklet to inspire you to do more to help these amazing birds. n