Swallows Return

For several years we have been visited by swallows who nest in the eaves of our house. They originally built the nest from scratch and its astonishing how rapidly they built the nest. It only took them a few days to establish the base and a few more to complete a very well built cosy nest.

This all started about 10 years ago and they have visited us most years, occasionally they missed a year or two for whatever reason. Some years the numbers of swallows that nest at the local distillery have altered from over several hundred to just a few tens.

They tend to announce their arrival around the end of April, beginning of May. This year they arrived on 1st May and took up residence in the artificial nest I fitted three years ago due to the structural failure of the original nest. It simply collapsed a few days after the chicks had fledged and the nest had been vacated.

They create a second tier to the nest in the corner next the the wall. Its difficult to catch them building but occasionally they settle on the canopy over the front door with some grasses or mud in their beaks. They seem to do most of the building in the early morning and visit the nest at lunchtime and late afternoon.

After a few days I see them mating on the canopy. There are now 4 eggs, which will hopefully hatch in about 2 to 3 weeks. The chicks usually fledge about three weeks later. Sometimes they raise a second brood of 3 or 4 more chicks. The chicks tend to hang around the house for a few more days while the parents continue to feed them.

Eventually they gather on the power lines in September and head off on their journey south by the end of September. Hopefully we will see them back with us in April May 2027.