Bank Swallow

Riparia riparia

The sand martin, also known as the collared sand martin or common sand martin, and in the Americas as the bank swallow, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the whole Holarctic area, from Europe, across Asia to the Pacific Ocean, and throughout North America. It winters in eastern and southern Africa, southern Asia, and South America. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 4,567 times across 70 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

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Movement and weather

Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 16°C (typically 11 to 23°C, from 36 areas). That range is wide, so temperature alone does not explain when it turns up.

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in Europe ranged from 43°N in August to 69°N in June, about 2,900 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.