Marine

Swallows and Amazons

August 8, 2013 by Marine Scotland Communications No Comments | Category Marine Directorate general, Marine Directorate Science

Swallows nest

During the early summer some enterprising swallows built a rather neat nest on top of the deck pump switch on the RV Temora.

The vessel was in almost constant use for the Stonehaven monitoring sampling every week as well as assorted trawling and gear testing activities, but the birds did not seem to mind the noise or vibration of the engines when running. But they drew the line at going to sea with the vessel.

They had laid three eggs in their little nest and sat on the them diligently, but when Temora went away to sea, the two birds would leave the nest and the vessel just as it went out into open water. They would then sit or fly around the top of the breakwater waiting for Temora to come back into view again, coming back to port.

The two little birds flew out to the Temora and one quickly got on to the nest while the other flew backwards and forwards around the vessel and this happened every time the vessel went to sea. 

Sadly only one of the eggs hatched however, the good news is that the two parent birds managed to successfully raise this chick.

Paul Mac Donald coxswain of the Temora noticed a very small swallow as he came back into port one day recently, flitting about and it came and perched on the top of the wheelhouse door.

Could this be the chick that had spent it’s early days in the nest on the vessel?

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