Has anyone else lost their squadrons of Hirondelles… ???
We’ve just realized that it’s a couple of days since we had them swirling around the house like “Red Arrows” on a mission… 
suddenly, the skies are clear…
I’m sure their migration is earlier than last year…
anyone else noticed this ???
Blimey, that’s early, I’ve just been outside to check and we still have some darting over the garden.
It’s unnatural… most odd… another thing we’ve noticed… no frogs croaking in the night… we had a vague murmur of a croak late spring… and been waiting ever since for the full Frogs’ Chorus… which has not arrived… 
(perhaps they’ve been in lockdown somewhere else…)
Same here (Charente) - I wonder why?
So do we, watched them from the terrace as we had supper. Ours very obviously spend several days assembling on our telephone lines (what did they do before these existed I wonder?). No sign of phone line assemblies yet. 
Sue, we will miss the sight of them gathering on the telephone lines this year as the cables were all buried underground late last year in our commune. Yes, the removal of the cables and ugly concrete posts was very welcome but it will be interesting to see where our little visitors will gather prior to departure 
Here, on the Vendee / Deux-Sevres border they are still whirling and swirling in their squadrons. Absolutely no sign of them leaving yet.
If the frogs have stopped croaking perhaps they sense an impending ‘tremblement terre’ ?
Quiet as the grave here… no frogs or cicadas last night… no swallows anywhere … very bizarre…
Morning All
Still have our birdies here in sunny La Manche
Andy
Yesterday evening, a big group doing some serious darting, diving and weaving over the cottage. Evenings drawing in rapidly, much cooler. I think our swallows are finally getting ready to depart.
Have you really not had any round you Stella for a month now?
Nope … they used to dive bomb us and/or zoom around as we sat on the terrace… was glorious
then, suddenly… all gone.
Shame.
Still no sign of the swallows leaving from here yet. Yesterday they were taking their early evening supper at a much higher altitude than usual, presumably due to a cloud of insects being carried upwards on a thermal.