I remember when I was younger, I would always look up at this nest before we would leave for school. I cannot recall when it was that these swallows first arrived, maybe they have been there my whole life, but I do remember that this nest started off as just a small nest right in the corner. There were times where we would be standing at the backdoor, and I would be shocked to see the speed of the swallow flying into its nest. Throughout the years, as the nest has grown, I have seen many generations of these swallows come and go every year, however, I have not seen or heard any of these swallows in a few years. There has been one occasion in the past where the swallows stopped returning to our home, but they eventually decided to return. According to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO 2020), swallows depart to warmer climates such as South Africa during the months of September and October and most swallows will usually return to the same nest.

 

I am optimistic that the swallows will return this year, but there is also the devastating worry that they might have fallen victim to a type of poison, as described by Carson (1962). This could be possible, as swallows have an insect-only diet and eat while they are on their migration journeys: the swallows could have consumed an insect that was a victim of insecticide. This would be devastating, as these swallows have become part of our ecosystem. According to Journey North (https://journeynorth.org/tm/swallow/SwallowsSwallow.html) swallows eat mosquitoes and other flying insects, which means that during the mosquito seasons, we have always had our trusty swallows keeping everything at bay.  As discussed by Whitehouse (2015:63-69) the activities of the swallows have always reminded me of warmer times, and the change in the local swallow population has left me worried about the future generations of our house swallows.