Fewer swallows to make a summer
With this week bringing summer-like weather across much of France, swallows have also started to arrive in numbers – but those numbers are down on previous years.
Swallows and house martin populations have fallen about 40% since the first count was done in France in 1989 – with man being the main reason for their decline.
A study by the Fondation 30 Millions d’Amis said swallows were 42% down and house martins 39% down as an already reduced population was hit by the effects of droughts when they were over-wintering in Africa.
Bird numbers have been hit by the effects of insecticides in agricultural areas and also by improved building standards which have left fewer ‘niches’ for them to build their nests – but also by people clearing old nests as the birds and chicks can leave a mess underneath (people destroying a nest risk a €9,000 fine).
The swallow, called hirondelle rustique, is the one most often seen across France and they nest on the outside of buildings, often under eaves, while house martins (hirondelle de fenêtre) nest inside barns or porches.
Similar looking swifts, or martinets, are not related to swallows or martins but they are also in decline and, like house martins, are classed as ‘threatened’.
Although bird numbers are down there may be some hope as the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux says that its publicity campaigns to stop nest destruction are having some effect – with the SNCF taking care to leave nesting spaces when it renovates stations.
The birds are a boon for gardeners and farmers as they eat tens of thousands of insects caught on the wing. You can find some ways to help them in an article from The Connexion and wild animal charity Aspas a few years ago.
