Well, our pair of Swallows have finally left the stables, and what a terrible year it has been for them. Three times the female sat on eggs and three times, either the eggs failed to hatch or the youngsters died within a day. I have no reason why, the House martins have each successfully raised two broods, so I don’t believe it is down to the lack of insects. Maybe it is down to a build up of parasites in the nests, they use the same three nests every year, and have done for the past 10 years. Whatever the reason, it’s all very sad. In the 10 years we’ve been here we’ve gone from 3 pairs down to one pair. In that time we’ve done all we can to increase the biodiversity on our small holding, so I don’t know what the answer is.
Photographing the Swallows is always a highlight of the year for me. Between 80-90% of my photography is now carried out on our smallholding and that’s just the way I like it. Peace and quiet and much less of a carbon footprint. This year I didn’t take a single image of the Swallows, so I thought I’d illustrate this post with a few images from previous years.
This image was taken with a 15mm diagonal fisheye lens. To fill the frame the Swallow has to fly within a few inches of the lens. The camera is fired with a handheld remote control.
Another remote control image, this time using a 35mm lens.
The youngsters usually spend a few days flying around inside the stables and perching on the stable door, before they venture into the wide world.
Feeding time
