There seems no doubt that of all the birds closely observed by the Rev. Gilbert White over his lifetime, mostly in his parish near the south coast, swallows and others of the swallow ‘family’, martins and swifts or ‘hirundines’ as he collectively called them, held a special place in his affections.
As touched-on in a previous blog White and most other ornithologists of the time, clung-to an old idea that ‘hirundines’ didn’t migrate but retreated in September to yet undiscovered ‘hibernariums’, one possibility being under water! The rationale given was that not only did swallows feed ‘on the wing’ but also drank that way when skimming across ponds and lakes, this being true. On more than one occasion in his letters Rev. White records that the first swallows were sometimes seen very early in April, even late March, but they disappeared again for a couple of weeks, this being because they returned temporarily to their hibernarium, after all, they wouldn’t fly south and then north again in two weeks time, on the face of it a fair point. The usual date to first see swallows in Hampshire, according to Rev. White writing to Daines Barrington (s.p.b.) in 1774, was 13th April. A now late bird watching friend of mine use to say that swallows arrived in Barton on 17th April and swifts on the 17th May, the differing date for swallows being explained by latitude.
The Rev. White’s letter, referred to above, was exclusively about the breeding habits, flight, call etc. of swallows and ran to about 1500 words – normally White’s letters were somewhat shorter and about a range of animals and their behaviours. The Rev. White’s letters were generally factual but written in the charming way that ‘men (persons) of letters’ wrote in mid-to-late Georgian times. One example here and more to follow next time – ‘Wonderful is the address which this adroit bird shews all day long in ascending and descending with security through so narrow a pass’ (entering and exiting the nest).