Friday, August 23, 2013 at 7:52AM Hirundo rustica rustica
Common summer resident. Aundant on passage along whole coast and offshore. Has bred Skokholm, Skomer, Ramsey and Caldey.
R.M.Lockley, G.C.S.Ingram, H.M.Salmon, 1949, The Birds of Pembrokeshire, The West Wales Field Society
Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 9:05PM Swallows are highly dependent on the availability of suitable buildings for nest sites. They nest in barns and other outbuildings, porches, sheds and garages, and are often semi-colonial particularly in farm buildings where livestock are kept. More unusual nest sites have included a sea cave in Martins Haven and a disused underground heating duct at Stackpole. They have nested in the public conveniences at Martins Haven for many years. Swallows have also bred successfully in some of the rooms in Carew Castle. Swallows are aerial insect feeders, and forage over a range of semi-natural habitats such as freshwater and salt marsh; open water; open, wooded areas and scrub, and over pasture especially if it is grazed by livestock, e.g. cattle and horses.
Data obtained during the 2003-07 tetrad survey suggests relatively little change in the distribution of breeding pairs of Swallows in the county (see map).
The data show an increase of 13% in the number of tetrads where breeding was confirmed between the two tetrad surveys. The map shows a largely unchanged distribution of tetrads in which breeding was confirmed or probable. A few gaps have however, opened up, for example on the St David’s Peninsula, on the Pencaer Peninsula and in one or two parts of mid and north Pembrokeshire away from the coast. These appear to be quite small-scale, localised losses that may be linked to the loss of suitable nest sites, e.g. as a result of conversion of outbuildings to dwellings. They may also be a result of changes in the distribution and abundance of aerial insects, following changes in land management practices.
Following the 1984-88 tetrad survey, it was estimated that at an average density of 20 pairs per tetrad, there were at least 8,500 pairs of Swallows in the county. A 13% increase in the number of tetrads where breeding was confirmed during the 2003-07 tetrad survey suggests that the breeding population is around 10,000 pairs.
Jane Hodges
Fieldwork 2003-07 (based on 490 tetrads)
Red = breeding confirmed = 338
Orange = breeding probable = 74
Yellow = breeding possible = 22
Total tetrads in which registered = 434 (88.6%)
JEH, PBBA 2003-7 in Swallow Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:44AM Breeding summer visitor and passage migrant
A common summer visitor to Mathew (1894), arriving in April and departing by early October. Lockley et al. (1949) agreed that the Swallow was a common summer visitor and added that it was abundant on passage. Today they breed commonly throughout the county (see map). At an average density of 20 pairs per tetrad there must be at least 8,500 pairs. Most nests are situated in farm buildings but other inhabited and derelict buildings are also utilised. They regularly breed in a sea cave at Martin's Haven, providing endless entertainment to folk waiting for the Skomer boat. A pair bred underground in a heating duct at Stackpole in 1987.
The first Swallows usually arrive in Pembrokeshire in the last week of March, occasionally from the 8 March onwards. Spring migrants are sometimes seen flying south again, a ringing recovery of one marked at Skokholm and recovered in Cornwall three days later suggesting that they may sometimes overshoot their destination or can retreat if they outstrip favourable weather conditions. They pass northwards across the county throughout April and May and a few can still be seen passing until early July. Many pause to hawk for food, freshwater proving a particularly attractive diversion. Bad weather, particularly drizzle, can cause a temporary halt and hundreds of Swallows will gather at places such as Pembroke Mill Ponds and Llysyfran reservoir. They move on rapidly as soon as the weather clears. Ringing recoveries show that these migrants reach a variety of destinations, from County Clare, Ireland, to Shropshire.
Swallows pass southwards again from late July, the movement increasing in volume to a peak in September. Massive movements take place on some autumn days. A particularly large passage was noted on 22 September 1983, when they were seen streaming in off the sea at Strumble Head from 07.45 hours (GMT) onwards. About 1,000 were counted over a 0.8 km front during the first hour, about 2,000 in the second hour and an average of about 500 in the following hours. Observation ceased at Strumble Head at 11.30 hours, when a journey to St David's established that they were coming in all along the coast. If the Strumble figures were representative of the movement as a whole, then at least 90,000 would have passed by during the movement. They continue to be seen on a diminishing scale through October until early December. They also migrate at night, judging by an occurrence at the lantern of the Smalls lighthouse on the night of 20 May 1984.
Several ringing recoveries show that Pembrokeshire Swallows go as far as South Africa during the winter, but one was still at Little Milford for a few days from 29 February 1960, another was near Manorbier on 1 February 1966 and one wintered at Haverfordwest in 1989, spending much of its time hawking insects over the river between the two bridges. It was first seen in January and thought to have succumbed during a sudden sharp frost on 1 March, but it has subsequently come to light that a Swallow appeared at Clarydale (about 5 miles to the east) on that date and was present until 14 March.
Fieldwork 1984-88 (based on 478 tetrads)
Red = breeding confirmed = 294
Orange = breeding probable = 70
Yellow = breeding possible = 62
Total tetrads in which registered = 426 (89.1%)
Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 2:52PM 
Red = breeding confirmed
Orange = breeding probable
Yellow = breeding possible
Saturday, December 18, 2010 at 8:55AM Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"
