Athy gets ready to welcome back swifts and swallows

Swallows, swifts and sand martins, there is nothing more heart-lifting than seeing the first swallow against an azure sky on a spring day.

The poet Charlotte Smith wrote ‘The welcome guest of settled Spring, The swallow, too, has come at last; Just at sunset, when thrushes sing, I saw her dash with rapid wing, And hailed her as she passed.’ So not having seen any yet this year I contacted the man who knows all about these things Chris McKenna from Suncroft.

Chris informed me that the Sand Martins and Swallows are usually the first to arrive followed later by the Swifts in mid-April.

Chris had been out scanning the sky this week but so far he had not seen any of the arrivals from North Africa and the Mediterranean.

He also told me about the work being carried out on the Swift nesting sites at the old Model School site. The swifts have nested at the Model School for over 170 years, returning each spring and staying until the light begins to fade in October.

The restoration work at the site has paid careful attention to the nesting sites to ensure the sites were preserved. This work was carried out by the contractors in conjunction with Kildare County Council and Wild Kildare.

Six triple nesting boxes have been installed, which will facilitate an additional 18 nesting places. Swifts are a declining breed in Ireland and great credit to Wild Kildare, Kildare County Council and the onsite builders for their work in preserving the sites.