swallows down?

[pegasus]

In my area, i'm sure there are not as many swallows or house martins about than in previous years. Funny enough i was talking to a farmer in my local the other night and he felt the same way.He added that about 5 years ago there were about 10 nests in various outbuildings but last year there were only 2.This morning i was chatting to an RSPB volunteer at at nearby country fair on this topic and he told he saw a report a couple of days ago stating that birds migrating from africa were down 50 % this year.A few theories being local difficulties in in Africa,problems en route or simply they are brassed of with our summers and staying further south.Having read other postings there would appear to be no problems in some areas, but i wonder if anyone else has seen this report on falling numbers and which species in particular?

[Jenny W]

Yeah there seems to be variation throughout the country. In my area I have noticed a definite decline in the numbers of House Martins and Sand Martins, although Swallows don't seem affected as much. As you say this could be a number of issues such as problems on the wintering grounds or on migration.