Barn swallow

Hirundo rustica Today, 3 October
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
now leaving 21 days
leaving Bird summer visitor

The whole year

15 September – 24 October

the coastal calendar, shifted 10 days later for this region

Sitting the year outGetting readyYoung aboutYoung leaving

Where to look

Stables, boat sheds and any open building it can fly through; mud nest on a beam.

Worth knowing

Two broods, sometimes three, in the same nest β€” so a nest that looks finished in June is usually refilled by early July. Closing the barn door after the birds have built is what kills most Croatian swallow nests, not predators.

Look it up

photos, sightings and recordings, off this site

Regions

where this species is on the list

Phase by phase

dates as they fall in the region chosen above
PhaseWhen LengthWhat it means
away for the winter 25 October – 19 March 146 days Not here at all. The birds are on the wintering grounds, thousands of kilometres south.
arriving 20 March – 14 April 26 days Returning from the wintering grounds; the first birds are ahead of the peak.
building 15 April – 4 May 20 days Nest, burrow or den under construction, or being lined out.
on eggs 5 May – 19 May 15 days Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun.
raising young 20 May – 10 June 22 days Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed.
young have left 11 June – 14 September 96 days Young out of the nest or den, but still fed and followed by the adults.
leaving 15 September – 24 October 40 days Leaving for the wintering grounds; stragglers run weeks behind. The pre-migration gatherings on wires are the second brood plus their parents.

Other birds in this region

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