House Martins

Went for a walk along the coast path south of Aberaeron this morning and was pleased to see 4 Choughs, the first I've seen this year I think. Also watched a small but steady stream of House Martins(maybe 100 in an hour) proceeding purposefully.....but northwards. To my way of thinking this seems like the wrong direction at this time of year! But what do I know compared with the birds themselves,the experts? Perhaps as there was a light northerly breeze they were using it to gain a little extra lift and were still feeding up prior to their eventual flight southwards.I'm really not sure.