Swifts, Swallows and Martins are our summer visitors arriving first with the Sand Martins from mid- March onwards to April for the Swallows followed by House Martins and Swifts up to July.
At this time of year we will see Swallows gathering often on wires then going into a feeding frenzy before returning to Africa. Sand martins go as far as the Sahara in North Africa whereas Swallows will fly all the way down to South Africa. Swifts are more elusive.
Swifts are really high flyers and mate, feed, drink and sleep on the wing. They rarely land only when sick or when clinging onto cliffs to bolt into a hollow to lay their eggs and raise their young. Manmade holes in high old buildings are a perfect places for Swifts but with modern buildings they have no suitable places to nest but a Swift box can encourage them but it may take a while for them to discover one.
Swifts can be identified by their screaming call and their black looking bodies (really dark brown) with crescent shaped wings. Swallows on the other hand tend to be low flyers when swooping for insects and are more colourful with white bluey black colours and a red under chin. They make a more chirruping sound and are distinguished by their forked long tails in the adults almost like they have streamers attached.
They like to nest in buildings that are open such as barns, stables and porch ways. If a door is left open they will go inside to nest hence church doors often say please close the door, half in the breeding season. Martins are brown with white underparts and sound like an aviary of budgies with their cheeping.
House martins tend to nest under the eaves of a roof with their mud and spit rounded homes with a small opening to allow parents to fly in and out when feeding their young.
Sand martins tend to find holes in a reasonably large bank to nest in. On BBC Springwatch this year they showed a manmade artificial bank with holes and there were cameras set up inside to watch the parents lay the eggs and feed the young. Young Sand martins tend to fly off south on their own even before the older ones go.
My neighbours and I have really enjoyed watching a huge gatherings of Swallows on the wires nearby. It was noticeable that the numbers were far greater than previous years but as this cold weather comes in they will soon be gone on their travels and face the dangers flying over the places where they are trapped to be eaten, even though it is illegal.
In Hans Christian Anderson’s tale, Thumberlina, she was rescued by an overwintering Swallow. In ancient times Swallows were thought to change into another creature for winter as they disappeared but it is still amazing that they fly millions of miles back and forth south and north each year.
Visit our local reserves Bodenham Lake, Oak Tree Farm and at Queenswood, the HQ of Herefordshire’s Wildlife Trust, where you will find fun things to do and great things to buy.