It’s that time of year again. The days are getting shorter and the weather’s starting to get colder. Autumn is on it’s way and the wildlife around us know this. For the last few weeks swifts, swallows and martins have been swooping around practising their flying skills before they set off on their long arduous journeys to their winter feeding grounds.
Swallows make the most incredible journey twice a year from their breeding grounds here in the UK all the way down to the southern tip of Africa to spend the winter. On the way they face freezing conditions as they fly over mountains, baking heat as they fly over the Sahara desert, the risk of being eaten by falcons or even being shot at. When they are migrating they fly about 200 miles a day. In 6 weeks they will have travelled an incredible 9,500km. To find out a bit more about swallow migration have a go at our Dangers of Migration Game on the RSPB youth webpages.
Today 24th April 20012, saw my first swallow in co Derry N Ireland, summers returning folks yay!!!