Swallows

Petroglyph

It's like a Hitchcock movie here as I look out at all the swallows in the estate swooping around the place. We have two nests on the house, and the little feicers are crapping all over the place!

I can here the young'uns in the nests squaling away. Wondering if they are due to fly soon?

I've also noticed on a few occasions, that a large number of them will 'buzz' a particular nest. Not attack it, just swarm around it in a large group - any ideas why they do this.

Despite the bird crap everywhere, I do enjoy seeing them zip around.

Ulmus

The birds you describe could be house martins not swallows. Also, the "buzzing" of nests is like the behaviour of swifts searching for new nesting places. See the link below:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/swift/identification.aspx

Glad you like them and are not bothered by the bird mess.

Petroglyph

Thanks for that. Looks like they are the martins alright. I must try and get a photo!

Ulmus

"The chicks leave the nest at 22-23 days, depending on the brood size and weather. Once fledged, the young return to the nest to roost and to be fed for several days and can remain in the colony for several more weeks before they disperse to join pre-migratory flocks.
House martins are frequently double brooded and three broods are not uncommon. Fledged young from first broods often help their parents feed a second brood." From RSPB website.
This could explain a group of house martins gathering at one nest.

tricky D

Martins can also help other colony members with nest building. When our martins came back a a few months ago, there was about half a dozen helping out with the initial nest building.