Visitors in April

The 22 April 2024 was a beautiful sunny day. We were having coffee outside in the garden when our first Swallow Tailed butterfly (Iphiclides podalirius) of the season started to flutter around nearby. Even if it only had one good tail it was a pleasant omen of the approaching summer.

The next morning on the 23 April, around 8 o’clock in the morning, a host of swallows descended on nearby electricity lines. We were completely astonished as we had never ever seen so many swallows congregating here. We used to enjoy watching around five or six on the lines and wait for them to bring up their fledglings in due course. But we had never seen so many. They covered the complete distance between the two poles which Kourosh estimates, by pacing, to be about 50 metres.

They all seemed to want to sit together on the same line but their numbers were such that some had to take a back seat on a second line.

Shooting into the sun is not ideal but, although we are not birders, the shot is good enough to show up the swallow.

We were very hopeful that they would stay around and nest in the vicinity but after a small showing the next day, they disappeared. I presume they continued their migration northwards and I hope they find a welcoming summer home with plenty of insects for them to eat.

My third visitor is not a stranger for we have many robins in the garden. It has decided to build a nest inside our old well. The well has plenty of interesting holes on the old walls which are well covered with moss and fern after the wet winter and spring. I just wonder at the suitability of the spot. If any nestling or fledgling were to fall, they would end up in the water at the bottom of the well. On the other hand it is a wonderfully concealed place and the grill would repel any predator larger and less supple than the robin. Unfortunately, the snake would easily slide down and it lives just round the corner.