The Swallows Are Back — First Hirundines on the Sefton Coast, April 2026

3 April 2026

The three hirundines — who arrives when

The hirundine family on the Sefton Coast means Swallow, House Martin, and Sand Martin. All three are summer visitors that spend winter in sub-Saharan Africa. All three return to the coast in April, but at slightly different times.

Sand Martin is typically first. They often arrive in mid-to-late March — a pale, brown-above, white-below martin with a distinctive breast band. They breed in sandy river banks and coastal cliffs rather than on buildings. The Sefton Coast doesn't have a large Sand Martin colony but they pass through in numbers on spring and autumn passage.

Swallow arrives next, usually early April. The bird most people recognise: metallic blue upperparts, russet throat, long tail streamers on adults. Breeds in farm buildings and barns throughout the Sefton Coast hinterland. Once Swallows arrive you see them consistently from April through October.

House Martin is last to arrive, often mid-April. White rump is the key field mark when one flies overhead. Nests under the eaves of houses — look for colonies on farm buildings and older houses near the coast.

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Barn Swallows on a wire — the tail streamers, russet throat and metallic blue back are the key field marks.

Where to see them on the Sefton Coast

Marshside RSPB is a reliable hirundine site in April. The open water and reed margins attract insects, and Swallows and House Martins feed low over the water on calm evenings. Park at the Marshside Road car park (PR9 9LH) and walk the coastal path — hirundines will be feeding over the pools to the west.

Farmland between Formby and Southport is good Swallow country once they've arrived. The birds nest in farm buildings and feed over the adjacent fields and hedgerows. Drive slowly on the minor roads between the coast and the A565 in April and you'll see them repeatedly.

The dune margin at Ainsdale NNR can have hirundines feeding over the open dune slacks on warm afternoons when the insect activity is high.

What to do with a first Swallow record

If you see a Swallow, House Martin, or Sand Martin on the Sefton Coast and it's your first of the year, report it to BirdTrack (bto.org/birdtrack). First arrival dates are a long-running dataset across the UK — every record contributes to understanding how climate change is shifting migration phenology. It takes three minutes and the data is genuinely used.

The iRecord app (from the Biological Records Centre) is the other option — you can record any wildlife sighting, not just birds. For a new Swallow record in early April, the date, location and count are all you need.