Just been for a stroll with the dog through the fields at the back of my house and spotted my first Swallows of the year. What do they look like? Have a look at the link here http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/swallow/
Every year I forget what the difference between Swallows and House Martin, well the main one is the tail. Swallows have long tail 'streamers', House Martins have much shorter forked tails. Its hard to spot the other differences as they are so fast!
Won't be to long before the Swifts arrive. We are lucky to have an untouched patch of land right in front of our house which is an ideal place for insects to breed, a 'fly thru' diner for Swifts! I spend many summer evenings just watching them screech by.
If only I was quick enough to take some pics!
Great to hear about the swallows and house martins. Went for a walk today along our section of the Trans Pennine Trail which runs over 200 miles from Southport to Hull. We heard woodpecker and saw among others, yellowhammer, red legged partridge, and lapwing (or peewits as we used to call them when kids). The lapwing are superb birds and the male's spiraling courtship flight a joy to behold. It's been a great spring so far but as we're 200 miles further north than Dartmoor we're still waiting for the house martins to arrive and, hopefully, nest again under our eaves.
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