8th of May: Swallows

Throughout the day - which at times was actually almost warm - large numbers of Swallows were seen passing through. An estimated 3,000, along with around 100 House Martins and Sand Martins and about 200 Swifts. Sitting in the sand dunes counting them fly over, the Swifts flew very close, the sound of their beating wings clearly audible as they zoomed past. Swifts are in fact the fastest bird in self-propelled flight.

Swallows nest on the Point every year. Last year there was a nest in the men's toilets. This year we have put up 'swallow shelves' inside our new sheds and the newly refurbished Tern Hide. These are small wooden shelves screwed close to the roof, to encourage Swallows to nest. Some years these shelves are used more than others, ranging from 3 to 9 nests. It will be interesting to see how many of our new shelves get nested on this year.

We have also created a rock pile to attract Wheatears to breed. There are large numbers of Wheatears on the Point, but they have probably not successfully bred here since the 1930s.

Ajay Tegala