Swallows – Everything You Need to Know
As the weather starts warming up and the winter frost dissipates, the swallow descends on the UK once again, returning from their wintering grounds in their 1000s. As well as being a beautiful addition to your garden, swallows provide vital insect control, and they are amusing to watch from a distance. We’ve put together this resource on swallows so that you can get to grips with this incredible species and understand their needs – perfect for if you want to attract them to your own garden.
Scientific name: Hirundo Rustica
European population: 51.9 – 89.5 million breeding pairs
Colour: mixed – blue/black feathers, a red/orange head, and a cream/white underbelly
Size: 19cm long, up to 25 grams
Wingspan: up to 35cm
What do swallows eat?
Swallows have a varied diet that Is typical of a wild bird. Insects (flying insects in particular) make up the majority of their natural diet. They aren’t too fussy about the types of insects that they eat and adjust quickly depending on where they are, but these are some of the common ones that are available to them:
- Bees, wasps, and hornets
- Flying ants
- Gnats
- Aphids
- Butterflies and houseflies
They are acrobatic creatures, so they can swoop and dive to catch any insect of their choosing as they try to manoeuvre away from their grasp.
To supplement their natural diet whilst they’re in the UK (which can be disturbed during rainier weather when flying insects tend to stay under cover), you can offer swallows bird seed. They don’t tend to flock to feeders as they prefer to eat whilst in flight to stay safe from predators, but they may peck seed from flat surfaces and from the ground.
If you keep grass longer in areas where you are putting food out, swallows will feel more confident in coming to eat it. Try nutritious sunflower seeds, and remember that swallows will usually only come looking for food if insects are scarce, so don’t be disappointed if they don’t hang around.
You can provide water in long, shallow dishes or bird baths – swallows don’t stop to drink but will drink mid-flight to stay safe.
Where do swallows nest?
Swallows’ habitats consist of open fields with plenty of places to nest and hide. They tend to settle near streams and will be attracted to paces with longer grass and foliage as this provides an ample source of insects to eat.
They will nest in tucked away places, and although they would naturally nest in and around caves or similar structures, they aren’t opposed to building their nests on beams and sheltered, external parts of houses. Attraction to these types of areas makes farms particularly attractive to swallows who are looking for a place to nest.
How many swallows are there?
In Europe, it’s estimated that there are 51.9 to 89.5 million breeding pairs of swallows[i], but the population numbers of swallows are victim to significant fluctuations depending on the weather. Because of this, there is no reliable figure for how many swallows take up residence in the UK each year. Outside of weather-related ups and downs, their population has declined generally since 1970 due to climate change and habitat loss[ii].
Swallows need specific conditions to be met to ensure their fledgling chicks survive, and to make sure they can lay their eggs in the first place. Wet mud is a necessity to allow the birds to build their nests and hunt for burrowing insects like worms, but too much rain can prevent them from gathering enough flying insects, which make up a large part of their diet.
When do swallows arrive in the UK?
Many of us look out for swallows to indicate the start of spring, but when exactly do they arrive on the shores of the United Kingdom? They generally start to appear in April and May, forming roosting flocks of thousands of birds which can be seen soaring through the sky.
When and where do swallows migrate?
As well as telling us when spring has begun, swallows leaving in their droves is a sure sign that summer is ending. They leave the UK across September and October, and head back to their wintering grounds in Africa.
Sources
[i] https://app.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob9920.htm
[ii] https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/swallow/population-trends/
Gemma Sharp is the resident writer for Garden Bird, a supplier of premium bird food and accessories. She has had a genuine love for our feathered friends from a young age, and has dedicated a lot of her time to learning all there is to know about them. If you’re struggling to pick the right bird feed for your garden, need help identifying a type of wild bird, or can’t decide where to put a nesting box, Gemma is the person to go to! She is passionate about sharing her years of learnt knowledge with the public. In her free time, she can be found feeding birds at home with her three young boys.
Hi Gemma … I rescued three African swallows and am wondering what to feed them once they are 6 weeks and older. Will seut with meal worms be a suitable diet?
Thank you very easy to read and understand. We have swallows living in one of our workshops/barn they come back every year usually the 1st May this year only 1pair and one on it’s own which is a shame.
Hi . I have lived here for 2 Summers . Two in a row the swallows have laid eggs ( once they hatched.)but I also have pigeons , and I suspect they killed the chicks , and this year, they kicked the eggs out of the nest .
I am sickened by this as i love swallows
Can they lay more eggs ? Or is it a one of peryear ?
I am going to box the nest inwith chicken wire, to hopefully keep the pigeons from getting to the nest
Am I right in thinking the pigeons are the guilty ones here .? Allan
Hi, we have a pair of nesting swallows in our barn and earlier this year they had a brood of five and then more recently a brood of four. I love the little poop machine but have to ask next year (if they all survive) will I get a flock of 12 swallows living in my barn or just a few of them?