FOR the last two years I have had swallows nesting around my house.

As they fed their young I was counting how many visits the parents made to provide food for the eager youngsters.

They seemed to be so busy that I wondered how they managed to obtain their insect food so quickly.

When I read the recent research I discovered why.

Scientists now think that when the first brood of swallows become independent they stay close to the nest.

When the parents start to feed the second brood the first brood join in and this accounts for the frequency of visits to the chicks.

Here is an example of baby-sitting among our wild birds.

There is also a suggestion that if moorhens produce a late brood then all the family stick together.

All this leads me to wonder if this could also be the case with other species. During the summer I'll watch carefully and it is good to know I can enjoy my birdwatching even more.