Nature Table : SWALLOW(Hirundo rustica)

Over the next couple of weeks you will probably spot large groups of swallows perching on roof-tops and telephone wires and ‘chattering’ to each other.

They have been here since April and are preparing for their return migration in late September or early October. It will involve an epic journey of 9,500 kilometres to South Africa. Most Irish swallows spend their winter in one reed bed at a place called Mount Moreland just outside Durban. They can fly up to 300 kilometres in one day but will also break the journey to ‘re-fuel’ by catching insects. Their biggest hurdle is the Sahara desert where there are very few flying insects. The young swallows are only three months old when they make the journey and up to 70% fail to survive it. They should really be called barn swallows, to distinguish them from related species, and it is not surprising that they’re declining in numbers.