Take Off

Taking off from the wire having being very vocal with her friends I was so 
very chuffed to see all three hanging around today. After years of having 3 full telegraph wires heaving and loaded with hundreds of swallows and now down to just less than a handful it is rather sad. 

We used to have babies everywhere all tweeting away in the mornings to wake up to, babies flying round the hall, the office, and just hanging on the balcony. Not any more.  Shocking state of affairs with the way things are going! Just hope that having arrived late they are getting it together and nesting somewhere safe with loads of insect activity.

 I've seen some of the farmers round here spraying their fields which reading about it is one of the main causes of their decline - no insects no swallows. In all fairness the climatic conditions in Europe have a huge effect and the climate in Africa, their winter quarters, is also a big factor as when they get here they are in poor condition so lay fewer eggs. A difficult situation. Who knows what their future holds!