They are soooo late.

Lovely story. made me smile. My husband watches for birds returning too

You might be interested in this - they possibly are returning from near where I used to live, to Mt Moreland, north of Durban, South Africa. Two to three million barn swallows! It's quite an event and people take picnic baskets. If you Google Mount Moreland Barn Swallows, you will find lots of info about it. Below is just from one of the websites (I've left the "What to bring" section in on purpose because it made me smile, and just a little bit homesick!)

In South Africa, as spring arrives in September, the migratory Barn swallows begin to appear at Mount Moreland, KZN, South Africa's largest roost site, the initial small flocks swell to thousands and then millions. By November 3 to 5 million Barn Swallows can be seen every evening in the wetland roost.

The month of March is equally spectacular as the Barn Swallows mass and are preparing for the migration back to Europe. Their flight is flirtatious, showing off their new feathers and the Barn Swallows communicate with vocal chirping sounds full of excitement at the prospect of their 10 000km journey.

What to bring:
Binoculars, picnic supper, a jersey should it get cooler later, drinks of your choice, deck chairs, camera – optional, anti-mossie cream. Come half an hour before sunset.

All brilliant!

Thanks, Grannyknot. That's fascinating.

I found this barnswallow.co.za/news/barn-swallow-news-2018/ Grannyknot. Fascinating reading.

"And after April, when May follows
And the whitethroat builds
And all the swallows".

A quote from Home thoughts from Abroad.
I've always thought of them as the summer birds, I look for their arrival from mid April onwards. It's usually the sand martins by the river who arrive first followed by the house martins, then the swallows and lastly the swifts. As soon as I see the first one, to me summer is here, however cold it is.

Thanks, all

I should add ... The swallows fly in and out directly along the flight path of the UShaka International Airport, so that has to be accommodated (and taken into account when the airport was built):

"The swallows, which have been trekking to Durban since the early 1970s, have a new challenge to contend with – air traffic going in and out of the airport right over their roosting spot.

So serious was the danger of their getting sucked into the engines that there was talk that either the airport project would be shelved or the roosting site had to be destroyed – both of which have been avoided, thanks to a hi-tech radar system and three Border collies".

But for anyone who might fly into Durban, don't worry about bird strike dangers, the swallows - and the planes - are safe due to an advanced radar system for bird movement, a first for SA. Also the swallows don't fly high enough - and I think the plane scheduling avoids the times when they come in to roost, and when they leave.