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First swallow |
12.4.2003 |
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Ó
Michael Woods |
I have just seen my first swallow,
lazily circling a field. I often wonder how far I am behind
everyone else when spotting the harbinger of spring. Now I
can find out by looking at the British Trust for
Ornithology's MigrationWatch website (http://www.bto.org/migwatch/
- well worth a browse). Sure enough, it shows that swallows
have been in the east of England for a month! I have been
either unlucky or blind.
The BTO have also provided some good news: swallows do not
seem to have declined so much as had been thought. The
longterm Common Bird Census shows little change nationally,
except in south-east England where there is a 3% annual
decline. The perception of falling numbers seems to have
been prompted by local colonies moving elsewhere. The
reasons range from the loss of muddy places for getting nest
material to a decrease in cattle farming (cattle dung
attracts insects). Loss of nest sites is probably also
important, with barn conversions being cited. There are
three old swallow nests in my garage which must date back to
a time when it was safe to leave garages and sheds open.
Less encouraging is the BTO's news of a harbinger of summer.
'For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The
flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of
birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our
land.' Alas, the gentle purring of the turtle dove is not so
often heard in our land. Pairs are laying fewer eggs than
they did 40 years ago and their diet has changed. Instead of
relying on weed seeds, turtle doves are feeding more on
cultivated seeds, which do not become available until
harvest time, late in the nesting season.
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