The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Wildlife => Topic started by: Rupert the bear on April 26, 2022, 07:56:14 am
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woke to that wonderful sound quite a few sitting on the steading roof :excited: :excited:
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No one was saying a word about swallows so I began to think I was too early to expect them, so thanks for that :D
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Spotted a solitary swallow here in Mid Wales on 14th April.
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No swallows yet, but yesterday I was in the garden having tea with a friend who asked "do you ever see ospreys here?" "No", I replied, "but there are some on the reservoir the other side of the hill".
Five minutes later she shouted "look up!", as an osprey flew overhead carrying a 1/2lb trout :love: .
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No swallows here yet, it is still very cold with Northeasterly winds... though some bumblebees are around.
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No swallows yet, but yesterday I was in the garden having tea with a friend who asked "do you ever see ospreys here?" "No", I replied, "but there are some on the reservoir the other side of the hill".
Five minutes later she shouted "look up!", as an osprey flew overhead carrying a 1/2lb trout :love: .
Brilliant ;D I won't ask which reservoir as some b###### will have a go at them. I've been watching the Arkaig osprey cam for several years now. They changed nests last year (probably to get away from several thousand people watching their every move) but the new nest now has a camera too :sunshine: . The new-last-year female Dorcha has laid her first egg so the season is under way :excited:
We did wonder about ospreys and bird flu but the thought is that as they don't predate on birds (total piscivores) or allow any other birds near them apart from their mate, they are unlikely to catch AI. For swallows, they do cuddle up to each other more, but also don't eat other birds, so I wonder if they will succumb. I'm unsure with Bird Flu if transmission is direct bird to bird or if mud or whatever trampled and pooed on by other birds, will transmit it. Presumably as we have to disinfect our boots and tyres, it's not only bird to bird. Watch out swallows, don't stop in Les Landes in France!
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Swallows were here on 5 April and a friend a few miles away saw hers the day before.
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Where are you Buttermilk?
None up here in my part of southern Scotland yet.
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None up here in my part of southern Scotland yet.
Yes they are! Saw some swooping over our field yesterday!
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Where are you Buttermilk?
None up here in my part of southern Scotland yet.
East Yorkshire.
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And two have turned up here (S.Scotland) this morning, sitting on the phone wires as if they'd never left :thumbsup: The fish will have no peace now as the swallows use their pond for their daily dip dives, drinking and washing.
That's summer here then :sunshine: :sunshine: :sunshine:
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That's summer here then :sunshine: :sunshine: :sunshine:
Summer indeed... frost here this morning. My beech hedge which I am growing to get some privacy from wannabe-housebuilders next door, has got badly frosted. Only yesterday I saw the first proper green leaves budding...
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That's summer here then :sunshine: :sunshine: :sunshine:
Summer indeed... frost here this morning. My beech hedge which I am growing to get some privacy from wannabe-housebuilders next door, has got badly frosted. Only yesterday I saw the first proper green leaves budding...
Oh no and there's another one due tonight but not so hard. It's a good idea to put up some green windbreak mesh to protect a new hedge up here, just until it gets established. Hopefully there are more buds to open so your hedge will be OK. But we know you can get frost in summer in Scotland ::) - we had a hard, damaging frost on Aug 6th one year, lost a lot of veggies etc. Tomorrow night will be a few degrees warmer :D
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still waiting here in Wales (did see one further down mountain this week.)
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That's summer here then :sunshine: :sunshine: :sunshine:
Summer indeed... frost here this morning. My beech hedge which I am growing to get some privacy from wannabe-housebuilders next door, has got badly frosted. Only yesterday I saw the first proper green leaves budding...
Not sure beech is the best choice for privacy Anke, mine completely defoliates in winter, wish I'd planted holly or a row of various conifers.
Or bamboo in a root barrier 😊
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That's summer here then :sunshine: :sunshine: :sunshine:
Summer indeed... frost here this morning. My beech hedge which I am growing to get some privacy from wannabe-housebuilders next door, has got badly frosted. Only yesterday I saw the first proper green leaves budding...
Not sure beech is the best choice for privacy Anke, mine completely defoliates in winter, wish I'd planted holly or a row of various conifers.
Or bamboo in a root barrier 😊
This one did so far keep a lot of leaves in winter, and Scots pine is going up in the second line, a bit further from the boundary to ensure we can grow them on as trees and not just a hedge... it is our north edge so no light lost from us.
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First swallows here in Angus ;D
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Yippee! First swallows here in W. York's.
Lovely to see them back, but they tell us to get out of the barn 🤣
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Yippee! First swallows here in W. York's.
Lovely to see them back, but they tell us to get out of the barn
I wonder if that's why we love swallows so much - they are so unfazed by people and don't take any cheek from us :thinking: :roflanim: :roflanim:
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:excited: saw first one here yesterday (flew round a few times then vanished again (hope he hadnt decided that the residence wasnt up to his/her standards (well one fell down and other was invaided by sparrows!)
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It's better for swallows to start with new nests in case the old one still has hungry lice etc in it.
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Ours arrived on 26 April as well. Their favourite perch seems to be the telephone wires above the neighbouring stables. Presumably lots of insects flying around.
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Last night whilst doing the pre bedtime check I ended up counting the roosting swallows round the buildings.
a total of 107 swallows , In a couple of places it was single birds roosting in others just lines of birds on the electricity cables wing to wing ,quite surprised it looks like the best year ever . I wonder how many of them will make the round trip back next year.
Looking in last years diary its getting close to leaving time.
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It's a good year for swallows here too, but I doubt we have 107 8) , just a skyfull. There was a furious chase of a red kite last week, kites not being common here, and the usual occasional high speed chase of the sparrow hawk when it's helped itself to a juvenile swallow. Our young JR appeared to have caught one too but as the other swallows didn't react I assume he actually found it dead. We have also acquired a pair of Peregrines nesting within half a mile and apparently our Hobbies are back after over 20 years but no encounters between them and the swallows that I have witnessed.
We usually have one or two nests with a late brood in which leave after the rest so I must check nests. It's usually the middle of September they leave from here in Southern Scotland so not long. Then we can do the annual scrub of everything covered in swallow :poo: ::)
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Not a good year here :( Only one swallow nest and 2 house Martin nests ( half what we had last year ... and a fraction of 5 years ago) First swallow brood didnt hatch. They reared 3 in second batch. House Martins both reared 2 broods but one of the nests hit the floor a few days before the babies were fledged ..... hope next year is better
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That happened to our house martins last year Backinwellies, when we had a severe drought here. They made their nest of dry sand so just after the chicks hatched it fell and the two tiny chicks were killed. We have no martins this year.
I hope your swallow numbers are back up next year. I think a lot depends on their luck crossing the desert, with fewer and fewer water holes. Perhaps with climate change they will start to over winter north of the desert so will have a less perilous migration.
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Ours have just hatched another brood , really concerned for youngsters future :fc:
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Ours have just hatched another brood , really concerned for youngsters future :fc:
Don't worry! They will fly in a month. Sometimes the parents leave first but only once the young ones have fledged and worked out how to catch their own food. They are chancing it a bit but that's how nature works - they may survive or they may not. Another cliche is 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger', so any which do survive may lead to the genetic changes necessary to adapt to Climate Change. Evolution in action 8)
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FW, but they're like our babies, we watch them with pride, taking their first practise flights in the barn, learning how to land on the beams without falling backwards LOL, Natural to worry ;D
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Phb, I'm the worst worrier, but some things are pointless to worry about. What will be will be. Unless you ring the swallows you will never know which ones come back. All you can do is to enjoy the ones that you can then wave goodbye when they leave and wish them goodspeed. I tend to worry when they come back in spring, following the weather forecasts avidly. I think that comes from osprey watching (the female osprey at Loch Arkaig didn't return to her nest and mate last year :( ). I tend to imagine the ospreys and swallows travel together but of course they don't ::)
Enjoy the new hatchlings until they go :sunshine: :wave:
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I have a stable type door where I let the goats out, opened the top this morning, stood for just a moment looking out, slight flash as a swallow whizzed passed my head, inches from my ear, im used to them whizzing overhead, but not so low or close. :o
,They do have a regular access above a big door, but I suppose my door is a much bigger opening for them.
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Phb, I'm the worst worrier, but some things are pointless to worry about. What will be will be. Unless you ring the swallows you will never know which ones come back. All you can do is to enjoy the ones that you can then wave goodbye when they leave and wish them goodspeed. I tend to worry when they come back in spring, following the weather forecasts avidly. I think that comes from osprey watching (the female osprey at Loch Arkaig didn't return to her nest and mate last year :( ). I tend to imagine the ospreys and swallows travel together but of course they don't ::)
Enjoy the new hatchlings until they go :sunshine: :wave:
Ooooh I dont know about that, the red rumped swallows are quite unique , especially the females , as to the others , I'm sure there are some that stand out from the others especially those upon arrival will know where the mealworm pate is left !
Well I like to think so.
I think the bulk of ours will leave in the next three or four days, still a few younger ones still, especially "dopey" whose idea of getting a drink is to bellyflop in to the water !
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Ours still swooping about, but not roosting in the goat shed anymore. At least I haven't seen them in their usual spots anymore. Thinking they will go within a week now... but I got my chimney swept yesterday, there is loads of firewood (though sadly had to be bought in) and I am looking forward to autumn and winter... I need a rest!
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Just after breakfast ( 7am ) it just went quiet, they were off, I waited outside all day ,just a few young ones about.
This evening I did my usual walkround , There are 11 stragglers 3 adults and 8 juveniles left here.
I dont think they will stay long either.
Another summer over :'(
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Ours started gathering a week ago and have nearly all gone now. Saw a couple yesterday but none on the morning walk today.
On the plus side, the winter starlings have started to arrive. Good to hear their cheerful chattering on the telephone wires. :)
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Swallows gone ...... S.A.D arrives :(
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I've just been to see a friend near Warminster, Wiltshire and saw quite a few flying around. Perhaps they are from further north and en-route to Africa?
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I've just been to see a friend near Warminster, Wiltshire and saw quite a few flying around. Perhaps they are from further north and en-route to Africa?
Almost certainly. It's like the ospreys from the North hang around reservoirs and lakes in the south of England stuffing themselves with fish before they launch out on their long migration.
Our last lonesome swallow left yesterday morning so it could include him ;D
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Well they're still here (west Wales) this evening - but it can't be long now .
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Ours are gone... sometime last week...
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Our babies first outdoor flights yesterday, they normally spend a few days flying round inside the barn. Learning to balance on rafters, parents have got them outside quicker than normal.
Walking to barn yesterday there was a flutter and a young swallow landed on some wood just in front of me, waist height, I could have reached out and touched it, I hurriedly backed away, it flew up to barn roof, but we got the cat into the house, just in case..
Back in barn this morning, parents were feeding them on top of the big door. 4 youngsters all demanding brekkie 😊.
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Saw quite a few flying over the wetlands this morning. Perhaps they are yours, Peninehillbilly?
In fact, there were masses of birds on the moor this morning. A flock of greenfinches, lots of goldfinches feeding on seed heads, reed buntings and a family of skylarks. Makes you glad to be alive! :)
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The last of the stragglers are away, I spent the morning with the wire broom removing the droppings from the steading, workshop, garage and tack room.
All the sweeping on to the composter.
All now just happy memories.
I hope I last long enough to see them return, I have left the nests where they are as many got reused this year.
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Well, looks like my little family has flown the nest, nothing Friday night, last night (Sat), there was something in the nest, (its very high up, under roof ridge) but nothing tonight.
Fly safely little ones.
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The last of the stragglers are away, I spent the morning with the wire broom removing the droppings from the steading, workshop, garage and tack room.
All the sweeping on to the composter.
All now just happy memories.
I hope I last long enough to see them return, I have left the nests where they are as many got reused this year.
We all hope you last long enough to see the swallows return too RtB. Stay safe :thumbsup:
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We only moved to our property late September and are just now in the process of cleaning up and painting the stables.
We’ve noticed a couple of swallow nests in one of them. No idea how recently it was used but it seems to be in good condition.
Should we leave it as is? Do they come back to a nest or do other birds use it? Or will they build fresh ones?
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Each year, about 44 percent of all barn swallows will return to nest in the same area they nested the previous year.
If the older birds decide to renovate their old nest, they begin by throwing out and replacing old nesting material and adding more mud around the nest's rim. So it can be quite messy!
I would leave them meantime but if they aren't used in spring take them down
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Ours always use one of the nests already there, not sure how much mess they make, so much of husband's junk over that side of the barn, I wouldn't see it anyway. ;D .
They are right up in the top, so we can't check them, but one year I don't think the last lot of eggs hatched, or didnt survive, the following year they used a different nest, but the year after, they were in it again.