Summer Swallows thinking about their return to sunnier climes

At the end of the summer, I took these photographs in Woodbridge on the river Deben. The swallows seemed to have their minds on voyaging to far away lands! Either that, or they were considering hitching a lift....

  • You could've crewed that boat for them and given them a rest from migrating under their own steam! Mind you, you probably wouldn't want to be responsible for mopping the decks if there were hundreds of Swallows lining all the ropes or sheets or whatever they're called.
  • Hmm, yes - you have a point there. We sometimes have to park our car under trees - and if we do, the local bird population often liberally decorates it by the morning. Unamused

    I'm afraid if I crewed the boat, they would never arrive at their intended destination. My sense of direction is terrible!!

  • Funnily enough there was an article in the Yorkshire Post country supplement on Saturday about late staying Swallows,Apparently there is an exceptional number of birds hanging on in Yorkshire this year. Having being out in the cold and wind today I think they may have changed their minds.
  • These photos were taken on 31 August... Interesting about Yorkshire based ones staying longer. Maybe they get a warmer welcome (if not warmer weather) up North than here in East Anglia!!