I remember from my childhood the little Blue Swallows that came nesting on our farmhouse veranda, just above the entrance to the rest of the house.
I’m not so sure if it is called the Blue Swallow or actually the Barn Swallow, but we used to call them Blues. They have this beautiful shiny blue plumage on the top op their little bodies and an off-white to grayish color on the bottom. The long forked tail feathers were quite longer than the wings resting on the back of the bird. The long forked tail, so caracteristic of the Swallow.
With a smallish curved beak, they were the prettiest little things that came by during Summer or if it’s just because they made their little nest on our veranda that we loved them so much, I can’t say.
Coming Summer, around September, we would wait for the first of our little friends to arrive and when spotted, we would delight in them, welcoming them ‘home’ after a long migrating flight from ‘up North’. Heavens know where they went to spend the Summer while we were having Winter down here in the Southern Cape. Probably somewhere in Africa.
We would watch them. The male birds came in first. Seeking the right spot to build their little mud nests and then the female birds would follow. ‘Our’ pair would come back to their ‘house’, hopefully still intact from last year, to breed. If their ‘house’ needs some alterations, they would patch it up again. Funny how they just knew that is was OK to build and breed there. As if they knew that we would protect them. It didn’t worry them at all, the activities going on inside the house. They, and us, could live happily together for as long as Summer lasts.
We kids used to make little puddles just outside the veranda with lots of mud for the birds to use, but they preferred to fly down to the dams to collect little pellets of mud which they carried in their small beaks and then carefully laid the little ‘bricks’ on the cup-shaped nest which they then lined with feathers. Any feather they could find and there were lots from chicken, owls and other birds, were used.
They could breed and upbring two batches of youngsters while down here. Sometimes up to three screaming wide open little yellow beaks. How the adults kept those wide open spaces of young throats fed at all times, was a mystery. They never quit asking for food. Soon they would become ‘old’ enough to take their first flight. With Mom and Dad urging them on, they would leave the nest and flap their little unfit wings and plummet to earth. Unscaled.
At sundowns we would watch them at the dam, swooping and skimming over the water, catching mosquitoes or whatever other insects were flying around. Playing tag or with a little feather, the adults with the young.
My Mom used to say, they were God’s little birds, these Blue Swallows, we should never harm them. I could never harm any of God’s little birds. They were too beautiful and precious with their shiny blue plumage. My favourite of the small bird species.
In South Africa today security plays a vital part in any business or private home. This book and the volumes to follow, will guide you step by step through the essential precautionary measures to be taken in protecting your family and valuables. From employing security guards, evacuation of your site and security measures to burglar bars and alarms in your private home.
a Book compiled by me from experience gained after 10 years in the security industry as Industrial relations officer with Nosa qualifications, 1st Aid, fire protection and also S.O.B. grade A.
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