Swallows in 2010 Arrivals, nesting and departures

V Bull

Yep, same here in North Wicklow area, very playfull..

IMG_6050.JPG

IMG_6051.JPG

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

There is no migration yet. Large numbers of Swallows all across the country. They are flocking certainly, now that breeding is over. They are also certainly stocking up before leaving, but not going yet. Also, none of them are "playing". They are feeding and finding their place in the flock.

Grid.

I have a nest of them in my garage and they are constantly wizzing around the back garden all day long.....great to see them back again and its lovely to hear the chirping of the chicks when they are feeding!:D

E39MSport

Daisy Better Ballistics wrote: »

There is no migration yet. Large numbers of Swallows all across the country. They are flocking certainly, now that breeding is over. They are also certainly stocking up before leaving, but not going yet. Also, none of them are "playing". They are feeding and finding their place in the flock.

Won't even attempt to contradict you Daisy Better Ballistics

When the young birds are chasing each other nose to tail .... that's a way of establishing themselves in the flock?

It's very nice to watch. Not wishing to anthropomorphise them but as a human I get a sense of joy and playfulness all the same. Maybe its a desire on my part...

stop

Whenever I walk across a field near work, one or two of them fly across my path, or around me at distances from 3~10m for the entire time it takes me to cross the field - noticed them doing it to others too. Any reason for this, or is it just 'playing'?

stevensi

More than likely they are feeding of any flies or insects that you are disturbing while walking through the field....

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Sevensi has it covered perfectly. They are after flies you disturb when crossing the field.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

E39MSport wrote: »

Not wishing to anthropomorphise them but as a human I get a sense of joy and playfulness all the same. Maybe its a desire on my part...

Let's settle for it being a learning process (flight, feeding, interaction, etc)rather than playing.

Durnish

on the Dawros peninsula the swallows have developed a strategy of following cars down the single-lane green middled roads. They swoop and dive, presumably catching the insects that the cars disturb. It can be quite dramatic, driving up a narrow, tree-lined back road with swallows playing chicken, in front and behind.
I wonder if they do this elsewhere.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Yes, they do.

littlebug

Lots flocking here today. One neighbours house was just covered with swallows for ages:D Why that house in particular I don't know.

UnleashTheBeast

Fuzzy Clam

Well I guess mine will be with me for a while yet as they've just had more hatch in the last day or 2.

E39MSport

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

Well I guess mine will be with me for a while yet as they've just had more hatch in the last day or 2.

Sadly not necessarily the case. I witnessed an abandoned late brood last year. Chicks slowly stopped chirping after a day.

Fuzzy Clam

Sadly I'm not going to find out as the nest is on the ground this morning and no sign of the chicks. Dunno whether my cats have any part to play in this :mad:
Noticed there are no swallows flying about here today either.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

Sadly I'm not going to find out as the nest is on the ground this morning and no sign of the chicks. Dunno whether my cats have any part to play in this :mad:
Noticed there are no swallows flying about here today either.

The recent torrential rain has caused several nests to collapse.

1squidge

There is currently hundreds of swallows flying over my house at the moment, I would say they will be off very soon.

Mothman

You'll have to bear with me because I'm not going to be able to come near to describing what I've just witnessed. I'm in awe, I'm dumbstruck and I feel privileged!....privileged in hosting 1000s...I kid you not, 1000s of Swallows and Martins tonight. They're 100m away in my woods.

I was going to follow 1squidge with a +1 because I had quite a few swallows over and about the house during the afternoon, but during the evening the numbers increased rapidly. They were doing a lot of flying about, feeding etc but usually they may hang around for half an hour and move on, but not tonight. The numbers kept increasing until they were a swarm of Starlings or midges. It wasn't quite like starlings when a whole flock seems to fly as one, but I'm trying to convey the numbers and the blackening of the sky at times because they were do dense. They would split off into groups of 100s and so had a numbers of separate groups flying around.

I got the rest of family out to witness and got the video. I was explaining that they'll probably roost in the reedbeds at the coast a mile from here, but no, they proved me wrong by just descending into my little wood.

From 100m away the wood sounded like there was a gale blowing through or that the waves were crashing in them, the sound was so intense. But it was calm and the sea is a mile away. I had planned to put on a moth trap at the wood. I walked in under the carpet of Swallows. The chattering was amazing and the canopy was a constant movement. I went ahead with the moth trap, the swallows not actually adjacent to it.

I tell you I have a tingling all over. I'm just sorry that so many miss out on this experience. I will be up at first light and I expect to see them arising from the wood and on their way.

If ever I get time to youtube the video over the winter, I'll let you know.

Good night and sweet dreams...I will

Durnish

gosh, wonder if any of the Dawros swallows were amongst them.
Get the video up, MM, soon, please.

Mothman

6am was too late for first light and they had left already.
Back to the moth traps

E39MSport

Good for you. Excellent stuff.

Pics and/or vids would be very welcome.

Durnish

so, was there much in the moth traps or had the swallows eaten them all?

Seriously, this August in Donegal I noticed loads of young swallows hanging about together. Most years there might be five or ten juveniles flying about but this year there were wires covered in them.

One day, during a very heavy, roof-pinging, shower the lines outside our house were covered with swallows using the power shower effect to groom themselves, holding their wings out and then poking about underneath. Amazing.

borderlinemeath

Since May I have had swallows nesting in my outhouse - 1st batch of 4 eggs hatched beginning of June, 2nd batch of 4 eggs hatched just about 4 weeks ago.

Last weekend the second batch started flying but yesterday one of the them accidently flew into the house through the back door. I hid down the other end of the room for a few minutes but it couldn't make it's own way out and kept banging off the velux windows rather than the double doors.

After a particularly hard wallop off the window the poor thing landed on the floor - not looking great, wing outstretched and fairly stunned.
I picked it up and it didn't struggle - brought it back out and left it on a shelf in the outhouse - still no movement.. didn't want to scare it any further so I left it alone to calm down and hopefully recover.

When I got home last night I went in to check on them - I could only see 3 juveniles clearly - and the parents sitting on the ledge beside the nest.
I started to worry that the injured one didn't make it.

But this morning when I went out the 4 babies were sitting on the shelf - soon as they saw me they headed straight out and away - definately all juveniles as their streamers haven't developed and their flying style is just not as graceful as their parents yet.

So happy that they're all ok, hopefully this won't put them off nesting again next year.

Durnish

Here, Mothman, if you see any of these Donegal youngsters flying over, let me know!

E39MSport

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Since May I have had swallows nesting in my outhouse - 1st batch of 4 eggs hatched beginning of June, 2nd batch of 4 eggs hatched just about 4 weeks ago.

Last weekend the second batch started flying but yesterday one of the them accidently flew into the house through the back door. I hid down the other end of the room for a few minutes but it couldn't make it's own way out and kept banging off the velux windows rather than the double doors.

After a particularly hard wallop off the window the poor thing landed on the floor - not looking great, wing outstretched and fairly stunned.
I picked it up and it didn't struggle - brought it back out and left it on a shelf in the outhouse - still no movement.. didn't want to scare it any further so I left it alone to calm down and hopefully recover.

When I got home last night I went in to check on them - I could only see 3 juveniles clearly - and the parents sitting on the ledge beside the nest.
I started to worry that the injured one didn't make it.

But this morning when I went out the 4 babies were sitting on the shelf - soon as they saw me they headed straight out and away - definately all juveniles as their streamers haven't developed and their flying style is just not as graceful as their parents yet.

So happy that they're all ok, hopefully this won't put them off nesting again next year.

Great story. Thanks !

littlebug

Their Mayo cousins getting ready to leave.

"when you get to Portlaoise turn left for Mothmans wood"

Durnish

Is it impolite to remark that all them swallies look the same to me? Can't tell the wan from the other. Must be getting old.

artieanna

It must be unusual to get such a large number, anyone have a reason for this?
Would they be preparing to fly south, seeing they congregated so near the coast?

Must have been amazing so many of them...

Dying to see vid mothman:):):) soon pleez:)

borderlinemeath

008.JPG

003.JPG

Not very good with attaching photos but these are a couple from our first batch in June/July

Mothman

Durnish wrote: »

Get the video up, MM, soon, please.

E39MSport wrote: »

Pics and/or vids would be very welcome.

artieanna wrote: »

Dying to see vid mothman:):):) soon pleez:)

Ok, ok keep your hair on
How does one video so many? Zoom out and one can't see anything, zoom in and one sees a few of them. Pan around a lot and it makes for bad viewing experience. With this in mind here is the first one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWR9zHT-Jbo

This 2nd one is here for the sound. It is dark in the wood and the camera is on night setting. I was at the edge of the wood. I'm sure the sound would have been more intense in the centre of the flock, but I didn't want to give the swallows to many reasons to rise. This is a young wood and the carpet of swallows was about 5m above me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slcj3rl4qAY