Donal Hickey: Easy to see why it's called a 'swoop of swallows'

Swallows often nest in sheds, garages, and farm buildings

Even if there’s only a small way into a building, swallows are able to gain entry. You’ll know very quickly if they’re around from the noise they make and their swooping flight

By now, the first swallows should be here — having made the arduous 10,000km journey from their wintering grounds in South Africa.

Remarkably, studies show most of these fork-tailed visitors return to the same colony each year, with 44% of pairs occupying the same nest, according to Rob Robinson of the British Trust for Ornithology.