WHILE “ONE swallow does not a summer make” according to folklore, swallows have already arrived in Ireland and, as in recent years, they are about a fortnight earlier than is normal.
There have been 44 swallow sightings this year since the first bird was spotted in Co Clare on March 20th, says Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland, which manages the Irish section of a Europe-wide study to track migratory birds.
Mr Hatch said the study assists scientists looking at the impact of changing weather patterns.
In recent years, he said, swallows had started to arrive in Ireland to breed a fortnight earlier than in previous decades.
The vast bulk of the swallows which come here seem to winter in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mr Hatch said there had been a high response by Irish people to the website set up to track the migration of the swallow, swift and cuckoo. Sightings of any of the three species can be reported at www.springalive.net