Swallows and martins

Both swallows and house martins have been through some challenging times recently, as Val explains…

- Val Bourne

I NEVER feel that summer has arrived until I see the swallows wheeling overhead and it’s a comforting thought that they were almost certainly born here, for swallows are known to return to the place of their birth. These insect-eaters normally arrive here in the third week of April, although a couple of years ago one solitary swallow perched on our chimney for several hours on April Fool’s Day. He was presumably going further north, after a much-needed rest.

The thought that these small birds have crossed the Sahara Desert on their journey from Africa makes them even more welcome. Swallows and house martins are closely related members of a family known as the hirundines. Swallows have slender bodies, long pointed wings and deeply forked tails so they are more aquiline and elegant than house martins. Male swallows with longer tails are more attractive to the female of the species. Swallows raise two broods and the first brood go on to help to feed the second.

House martins look very similar, but their tails are shorter and their flight much more fluttery. They tend to arrive a week or two after the swallows here.