Swallow rescue 1974: A cold autumn brings dramatic consequences!

Von WOM

In autumn 1974, the weather in Central Europe was anything but friendly. A sudden onset of winter not only surprised the meteorologists, but also the swallows, which normally break south from late August to early October. However, everything was different this year; Nature played crazy and the birds could not prepare for a trip as usual.

The first reports on the swallow disaster came from various regions in which farmers were shocked to observe that smoke swallows and flour swallows increasingly collected in their stables without showing the habit. The unexpected cold had killed the flight insects, which meant that the swallows found no food to build up the necessary energy reserves. Tragically the first animals began to die.

The rescue action

Rolf Gogné, an active bird guards from Bruchköbel-Roßdorf near Hanau, quickly became aware of the extent of the problem. He mobilized a variety of bird guards who were working together for the rescue of the swallows. This emergency spoke around quickly, and soon a Germany -wide campaign was launched. Airplanes started from various cities such as Frankfurt am Main, Echterdingen and Saarland to save the swallows.

In total, almost 2 million swallows were transported, although not all birds flew. For example, some traveled from Freiburg by train over the Alps. This logistical challenge was remarkable and required a lot of coordination and cooperation among bird guards.

  • How usual is it to catch meal swallows? Wolfgang Meyer explains in a time sign that it is usually very difficult to catch these birds because they are very shy.
  • In order to make the emaciated animals fit for the trip, the swallows received special care and food from the bird protectors who did everything they could to stabilize the animals.
  • from Frankfurt am Main alone, numerous machines flew to Genoa to bring the swallows to the south.
  • From Italy, the swallows were able to move further to Africa with their own strength, where they returned to their natural habitat.
  • Despite the committed rescue operation, there were critical voices in 1974. Some people questioned the need and effects of this rescue operation.

The fate community of the swallows and its protectors were the focus of this extraordinary event, which shows how man and nature can work together in extreme situations. Such engagement for the protection of animals underlines the importance of biodiversity and the influence of the weather on the natural behavior of the species. As can be read in a current report from WDR 5 Topic and highlights the background of this remarkable rescue operation.

The historical and ecological perspectives that result from this time show how important the awareness of the changes in nature is and how quickly the balance of species can be disturbed if unforeseen circumstances occur.