fse10 Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 Blooming heck i know it's been mild, but was delivering down in Hythe near the rifle ranges and there was loads of swallows still flying about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samboy Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 Can't remember the last time i saw one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKD Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 I'm working along that coastline tomorrow so will keep my eyes peeled for any sightings 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 i rekon while bugs are still hatching in numbers to sustain ....they will continue to reap the harvest....must admit i am surprised at the report Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 1 hour ago, ditchman said: i rekon while bugs are still hatching in numbers to sustain ....they will continue to reap the harvest....must admit i am surprised at the report We have in the past seen the odd Swallow in November on a shoot day but only the odd one and that would be an exception to the rule , I say Swallow but could they had been House or Sand Martins , although they come here a little earlier than Swallows so I would imagine they leave our shores earlier and the sightings from the op would had been possibly young Swallows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royden Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 Never seen Swallows this late but i did see one lone Swift in November a few years ago. It was traveling in a north westerly direction which i would have thought was totally the wrong way, and as they usually disappear completely from these parts in early August doubt that it got very far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjpainter Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 3 hours ago, fse10 said: Blooming heck i know it's been mild, but was delivering down in Hythe near the rifle ranges and there was loads of swallows still flying about. This could be part of a growing trend. In the last few years, some swallows have jacked in this whole migration business in favour of toughing out our milder winters over having to crossing the Sahara. Twice. The Sahara's been expanding for years now. This puts pressure on the swallows' migration and in particular stop-off watering holes. these are scarcer and less likely to give all the need to cross the bigger expanse. Instead, we're seeing more birds just migrating to our coastlines and feeding off coastal invertebrates, or staying in small colonies near water where insects may still be around. The pay off is IF they can survive, they're here earlier and make more use of the breeding season as well as not have to worry about the availability of water or the dangers of a full migration. One cold snap could be disastrous, but the more winters they survive doing that the more hardened they become. So watch this space... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted November 24, 2022 Report Share Posted November 24, 2022 many bird studies are being / have been done...............woodcock beaks are becoming shorter !!...they think its because of the drier feeding areas in their summer homeland and beaks dont have to be so long to probe the ground .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man Posted November 24, 2022 Report Share Posted November 24, 2022 None here for years, swifts and martins too? Everything sanitised and blocked up too. Useless environmentalists on the local council more worried about a bit of bird **** than the future of birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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