I know. I promised to write again about the swallows and provide some photographs of them if my photography skills were up to it.
Unfortunately, since I wrote about the arrival of the swallows on 15 May, I have hardly seen a swallow here. There are some in the village although my feeling is that the numbers are significantly lower than usual. I have seen them at a distance but the family group that makes its summer home around our house and the neighbouring terrace has been strangely absent.
We spent a week in early July in a village on the northern tip of the Yorkshire Dales National Park but which is actually in Cumbria. Each evening we were treated to the spectacle of 8 to 10 swallows diving and swooping around the house and farm buildings as they sought out flying insects. It was quite a spectacle and reminded me of what had been missing from the summer at home.
I did try to take some photographs. The ones on the wing were very poor but I did get a few shots of them at rest on the cables connecting the buildings. The quality is not high but at least I managed to get a few images.
I have checked with both the RSPB and the BTO websites and there is nothing to suggest that 2019 has been a particularly bad year for swallows. A couple of other forums report mixed fortunes. Some areas enjoyed early arrivals and significant numbers while others suggest that numbers are reduced and in a few cases a complete absence. So, perhaps the lack of swallows around our house and outbuildings is not something to worry about for one year. But I am already concerned about what will happen next spring.
The RSPB website suggests that as with other once common species, swallows in the UK are in long-term decline. In the case of swallows, numbers have been decreasing since the 1970s. Changes in farming practices may be to blame for fewer nesting sites and fewer flying insects here in the UK but changing climatic conditions over their whole geographic range may be more important. At their over-wintering sites, conditions are becoming hotter and drier and there is less food. This means that they begin their migration to Europe in poor condition and changing conditions over North Africa and the European continent also affect the success of the migration.
I certainly hope the lack of swallows around our house this summer is an anomaly. I’ll let you know what happens in 2020!