David Lock

The Swallows that is. Over the past couple of weeks we have had more and more Swallows swooping around the garden and preening themselves on the aerial and telephone line. This morning there must be a hundred or so and I reckon they are getting ready for the big trip to Africa.

Fabulous to watch but anyone know what triggers them to leave on a certain date? Weather, air pressure? Anyone else seen them getting ready? dl

rossyboy

iTrader: (8)

About time. My mum's place gets absolutely bombarded with swallow **** all summer Wouldn't be the same without them though.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Stop it! No-one else is to mention this! It means summer is over

Alcazar

RUDDY

ours left yesterday!

Brendan Hughes

Eh? I didn't know it had started, this year.

RussBoy

They'll be heading this way. We saw them off and we see them coming back in at end of summer (we overlook Morocco, North Africa in the distance and they seem to rest here for a while as well...we have the nests on our house which they use year after year)

greenonedave

dont the locals shoot em ?

RussBoy

If it moves, they'll shoot it. Alsatian dog belonging to a German guy was shot in front of him in the Campo (countryside) last year and I was walking through a inland village a couple of weeks ago and a kid of maybe 6 or 7 years was sniping with an air rifle from a balcony in the street...at other kids!

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

Lovely

greenonedave

funny thing cultures, I love walking round the back of our local park with my dogs, watching the swallows flying about like little rockets, catching the flying bugs, zapping about, chirping away , really nice . then when the weather turns colder and they fly to sunnier climes some ******* shoots em

Rapid17

The Housemartins in the area where i live left last friday apart from a few odd one's which i presume have young from late broods still in the nest.

Geoff.

RussBoy

None arrived here yet.....

Brendan Hughes

Really? But I thought the UK was a hotbed of gun crime and violence and everyone wanted to move abroad to nice countries like Spain where things like that never happen?

RussBoy

2 things...firstly, there's an important moral in there about grass being greener etc. Spain is like any other European country and it has it's fair share of shootings and stabbings etc but on the whole, there is far more restraint and respect amongst all groups. Something silly to illustrate my point....I was driving along the coast about an hour ago and a cop jumps out about 5 or 6 cars in front and halts the traffic (2 lanes). Maxed up Leon with group of lads is alongside me with windows down (it's hot!) and stereo pumping out. Then it turns out the reason the cop stopped the traffic was to let a big queue of funeral mourners across the street. Lads in the car next to me turned off their music. The longer I'm here, the more I notice incidents like these.

Secondly, this incident was in an inland village...far away from the beaches, ice creams and kiss me quick hats in the areas many Brits have only dare venture to. I wouldn't say inland villages were lawless, but they are certainly left to their own devices a lot more and justice is managed more by those who live there than the authorities. And it's that, in my opinion which gives it a big advantage over PC Britain...

Brendan Hughes

ssh Russ, the Brits will all move there...

BH (in Lisbon)

David Lock

Well it's turned coldish now and they've gone. Lucky buggers dl

Painkiller

I still have mine i think they must of forgot!