I posted a photo of four baby swallows the other day. Here it is again, in case you missed it. I’m pretty sure this is the parents’ third brood of fledglings this year. Swallows lay 4 or 5 eggs which take up to 21 days to hatch. Then it’s another ten days until the babies open their eyes, but another ten or so until they’re ready to fly off on their own.
These swallows are hirondelles rustiques – country swallows. As well as these, there are three other types to be found in Limousin – hirondelles de rochers (rock or cliff swallows), hirondelles de rivage (bank swallows) and hirondelles de fenêtre (window swallows). All four types are protected under the nature protection act of 1976. It’s forbidden to destroy either them or their nests. You face a fine of up to €9,000 or imprisonment if you do.
We all know these days that swallows migrate to and from subtropical Africa, but in the old days, people thought they spent the winter hiding in reeds around lakes. They didn’t believe such small birds could make such enormous journeys. Swallows have been known to arrive in Limousin as early as the 21st of January (in 1991 and 2002), but usually it’s around the 20th of March that they begin to appear. They really do announce the arrival of Spring.
Swallow numbers are declining. According to the species, they have decrease between 60% and 80% since the 1980s, which is extremely alarming. The reasons include destruction of habitat in Europe, droughts in Africa, use of insecticides, climate change and loss of hunting grounds. Last year we lost most of our swallows here at Les Fragnes during the freak spell of cold weather in May that brought snow and strong winds. That was a disaster for French swallows.
Our swallows are country swallows and build their nests against or under beams in barns and other rural buildings. They are very happy to share their environment with other animals. Most of the nests here are in the stable where the guinea pig cages are and in the old woodshed which is now one of the llamas’ sheltering places. There are several nests in the llamas’ other shelter, an open-fronted stable. So it really does seem that the swallows like company.
Window swallows build on houses, along roof edges or above windows. These make themselves unpopular with home-owners because of the inevitable pile of poop that builds up underneath. This is a main reason for their nests being removed – illegally. The simple solution is to attach a piece of wood to the wall beneath the nest to stop the poop falling on heads or pathways, and to clean it once the swallows have departed in autumn. That isn’t too onerous, now is it?
Rock or cliffswallows are found on cliff faces, large rocks, barrages (dams) and bridges, while bank swallows inhabit anywhere sandy where they can burrow their nests, usually close to waterways.
We love our swallows and spend hours each year watching them catch insects over the lakes at dusk, or as they sit in long lines on the telegraph wires alongside our driveway. They dive and swoop around us as we do jobs on the farm and it’s always wonderful to see them arrive in spring. We don’t enjoy their departure in autumn so much as it means winter is on its way.
(Info taken from the leaflet about swallows published by SEPOL Limousin. Website at www.sepol.asso.fr/)
A lot of interesting information. I didn’t realise there were so many different types of swallow. We love our first glimpse of them in spring. We also love seeing them swooping in formation on our swimming pool to get a drink, although I dread to think what the chemicals must do to them.
I hadn’t realised about the different types either until I did my research. I also hadn’t known they were protected. It was a shock to discover how much their numbers are dropping. Our Les Fragnes swallows have had a good year here, lots of babies, so they’re doing their bit for the population!