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| Monitoring House Martin nests at the Chateau of Chenonceau. |
The House Martins (Fr. Hirondelles de fenêtre) are working hard at the moment to build or consolidate their nests. At the Château de Chenonceau, they are going back and forth between the moat where they collect mud and the Tour des Marques where they have established themselves.
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| House Martin nests under the wall walk on the Marques Tower. |
Last year 170 occupied nests were counted on the site, one of the largest colonies in the département (county). We will know in a few weeks if the breeding season is going well this year.
5 comments:
Hello Susan,
I’m confused. Don’t tell me it’s my normal state. LOL=MDR (mort de rire).
Les faux amis!. Martin in French, as you say, is hirondelle, but swift is martinet!
Here is a link to a French article on swifts that, I’m sure, you’ll find interesting.
https://www.geo.fr/environnement/martinet-quel-est-cet-oiseau-capable-de-voler-des-mois-sans-jamais-atterrir-205358b
I just found this interesting excerpt at Martinet in Wikipedia French:
“La confusion s'est également produite en anglais à partir du normand, puisque les martins y sont des hirondelles.”
So, I wasn’t the only one to be confused. Ouf!
Here is a different link on swifts and other birds
https://isere.lpo.fr/2015/hecatombe-chez-les-martinets-que-faire-si-vous-en-trouvez-un-au-sol
chm: Thanks for the links. It's not just the names confusing people. It is depressingly obvious to me every time I talk about these birds that the vast majority of people don't even realise there is any difference between martins, swifts and swallows, and can't tell them apart. That's part of the problem of dealing with their declines. People very happily tell me they have swifts nesting in their garage -- but they don't -- they have swallows. Etc and so on.
Another interesting link:
https://www.animalwised.com/the-difference-between-swallows-swifts-and-martins-3558.html#anchor_1
Now I am a little less confused since I know that swifts are martinets and martins are hirondelles. Now, swallows! I nave always thought that swallows were hirondelles! Yes, they are in French.
Interesting that birds with one name in French have two names in English. Is it a language thing, swallow being Anglo Saxon and martins being French as it is said in one of those links?
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