Barn swallow

Hirundo rustica Today, 3 October
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
now leaving 35 days
leaving Bird summer visitor

The whole year

29 September – 7 November

the coastal calendar, shifted 24 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 8 November – 2 April 146 days Not here at all. The birds are on the wintering grounds, thousands of kilometres south.
arriving 3 April – 28 April 26 days Returning from the wintering grounds; the first birds are ahead of the peak.
building 29 April – 18 May 20 days Nest, burrow or den under construction, or being lined out.
on eggs 19 May – 2 June 15 days Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun.
raising young 3 June – 24 June 22 days Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed.
young have left 25 June – 28 September 96 days Young out of the nest or den, but still fed and followed by the adults.
leaving 29 September – 7 November 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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