Fewer swallows grace summer skies in Britain amid changing climate

Unpredictable weather affecting bird's lifecycle, with breeding populations down by almost a quarterThe proverb "one swallow doesn't make a summer", first attributed to Aristotle, sums up our love of this elegant bird. Swallows visit us for roughly half the year, between April and September, before travelling almost 6,000 miles (10,000 km) to South Africa, where they enjoy a second spring and summer.But unpredictable weather patterns are now affecting swallows throughout their lifecycle: in Africa, on their journeys south in autumn and north in spring, and during the breeding season here in the UK. Continue reading...