BBC revisits Umzumbe swallow story
The Umzumbe roost site was featured in a British documentary in 2012.
THE extensive barn swallow roost in Umzumbe, which was featured in a BBC documentary, might be back in the international limelight.
Local bird ringer Andrew Pickles and the swallows he has studied at the roost site for a number of years, were featured in a BBC documentary called ‘Winterwatch’. Together with ‘Autumnwatch’ and ‘Springwatch’, which had already been made when the film crew visited Umzumbe in 2012, this one-hour film was part of a series that proved popular when it was flighted in the United Kingdom.
The idea behind ‘Winterwatch’ was to show how animals and birds cope with the cold English winters. One option is to migrate to warmer climes and this is the option the barn swallows choose.
The film crew that visited the South Coast to film the insert on the swallows was headed by environmental presenter Michaela Strachan, now based in Cape Town, and cameramen Nick Chevallier and Greg Nelson.
On the first evening of their visit they spent four hours at the roost site filming the netting process. The next morning they were back bright and early to obtain footage of Andrew ringing and releasing the birds. In all, they spent about 10 hours filming a segment that was only about 10 minutes in length.
Recently Andrew received a letter from Ben Harris, the director working on the ‘Winterwatch’ programme for 2014, suggesting an update on what he calls the “spectacular swallow story”.
“I recently watched the item that was recorded for the 2012 Winterwatch and have discussed this with the series producer. We thought it worth pursuing to see if the story could be revisited. We would love to come and film the roost again but would obviously need a new angle. If you have any thoughts at all it would be great to hear them,” he wrote.
Andrew is passionate about the swallows, birds that breed in the northern hemisphere then head south to warmer climes during the cold northern winters. A recognised authority on the barn swallow, he has spent many hours at the Umzumbe roost site, ringing them as part of his research.
During our summer months the birds provide an amazing natural spectacle as thousands of them arrive at the massive reed beds at Umzumbe and at reed beds alongside other South Coast rivers, to roost for the night. The barn swallow used to be known as the European swallow in South Africa. Its new name reflects its habit of nesting in barns in Europe during the northern hemisphere summer.When here for our summer, they camp out in our reed beds.
