To be honest, they have been back a while and it seems that all around the Algarve they appeared much earlier than their usually late Spring arrival.
We’ve been lucky locally as while a lot of the Algarve is having rain, we’ve had a patch of clear blue sky above the Quinta most of the day. The Red-Rumped Swallows are of course out hunting on the wing and I took a break from gardening duties to capture some with the camera.
{Click image(s) to view on Flickr - opens in new tab}The Red-Rumped Swallow is larger than the Barn Swallow and the most oblivious difference is the lack of a rusty chin, but is also a more golden colour and of course has a red rump!
They nests are constructed differently to Barn Swallows as it is completely enclosed with a tunnel entrance. These are usually built under cover in places such as bridges. We used to have a nest under one of our terraces, however, it fell off a few years ago and they didn’t return the following year to rebuild it.
Like all Swallows, Martins and Swifts, they are difficult to photograph, but they do have a more relaxed flight making it a little easier than Barn Swallows and House Martins.
Just to show the difference, here is a photo of a Barn Swallow.