It was dusk and I was making my way home through the long winding dirt footpaths that lead back to Loseley. This year we have two huge fields of rapeseed growing in the valley. They are so bright that I feel like I am swimming through liquid sunshine when I look across them.
I love walking at this time. The light is fading. There is the gentle hum of everything closing down for the night. A chattering from the birds. The final buzzing bee wandering home drunk from a day of feasting on nectar. The slightest of breezes. The closing of the day.
I was smiling up at the blue sky above when I saw him. The forked tail. The red chin. The twitter of happiness, like a bubbling brook overflowing.
He flitted by so fast that I could have missed him. A blur of flying feathers whistling overhead, quickly becoming a dark smudge on the far side of the field.
But I saw him. I knew that elegant silhouette. The forked tail meaning it could be a swallow, swift or house martin. But the flash of red told me it was my barn swallows. Home for the summer.
Here he was - a tiny avian adventurer who had just completed an epic 4 week safari. Journeying all the way up from Southern Africa, the full length of the dark continent - laden with mosquitos, tropical forest, grasslands and thorn trees. Days crossing the parched arid Sahara desert with no place to touch down and rest. A skip across the briny sea and into Europe. Up through Portugal and Spain and France. Flying in over the white cliffs of Dover. Through Kent & Sussex and on up into Surrey and home to the green pastures around Loseley. A journey of over ten thousand kilometres.
My heart leapt when I recognised my little friend. I wanted to let out a cheer. MY FIRST SWALLOW OF THE SEASON.
I wish I carried a medal or rosette in my coat pocket. A prize for my little feisty friend. I wanted to dance and crack open a bottle of champagne. To celebrate that my friends have made it home for the summer. THE FIRST TO RETURN.
They journeyed for a full month just to get here. The males coming ahead followed by the females. They come to make their nests in our barn. They come to feed on the insects over our pastures.
Survivors. Athletic. Masters of endurance. Experts of navigation. Lithe flying machines.
There is a greeting in Southern Africa that states ...
" I SEE YOU."
It is a statement of recognition. A slowing down to take a look. An intentional observation. It reveals a lingering gaze. A knowing. It is a mark of honour.
" I SEE YOU - MY LITTLE FRIEND. WELCOME HOME. I MISSED YOU. "
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