Comm Swift Project

[Martin Baxendale]

Mark, yes the swifts' behaviour does look and sound like what you describe, and is mainly in the morning and evening, though sometimes also in the middle of the day but to a lesser extent. There are plenty of old houses around here with, like ours, gables and eaves and gappy bits. I'll take a look at the swift box designs I recall seeing earlier. I know we have under-eave bits where starlings nest. Maybe I can  arrange a bit of swift accomodation too.

[mark smyth]

Great deal of interest today at 2.30pm. Possibly as many as 15 birds checking the house coming in from all directions. They were checking two boxes still in place. Birds were landing on the walls of the house, window frames, on the boxes, on the speakers and hanging on the entrances now reduced to 32mm to keep the bully boys out. CD not playing at this stage as I forgot to press repeat before going to work. A fourth box is going up later in the week. Birds with quivering wings definitely leading possible mates and mates to the boxes.

here is a photo from someone in Germany showing two adults looking out possibly duetting to keep nn breeders away. In the nest are two chicks showing typical white edges to the flight feathers

[Stephenb]

Swifts finally arrived here near Trondheim (63.5N) in large numbers about 5 days ago, just about the normal arrival date despite cold weather. As we're north of the shaded area, will pass on to Ulrich..Still get a thrill seeing my favourite bird the first time of the season!

[mark smyth]

It's amazing that birds in southern Europe are fledging young already and yours are just arriving.

Much excitement at my house this morning with a pair of swifts entering one of my next boxes and immediately duetting to stake a claim

[Anthony Darby]

I saw my first swifts in Dunblane last week. Played the DVD all weekend but not seen a swift since!

[mark smyth]

they will come! I've been trying for 3 years now, sounds like trying for a baby, but last year I bought two new boxes to put on the gable

I've just come in from watering the garden and to my amazement a swift has been trying, unsuccessfully, to enter my other gable nest box. It's almost dark outside and I can only see the swift as it crosses the pale cream gable. It looks like a huge bat. It is silent in it's approach and nothing screams from within each time it tries to enter. It tried for about 5 minutes and just disappeared. Maybe I missed it go in as I moved to get a better view. I hope this means I now have 2 pairs.

[mark smyth]

just realised something. You watch the DVD and the swifts hear the CD!

Just spent three brillant days with Mr Swift Edward Mayer from London Swifts. He came to visit us. His lecture is a great break to normal plant and wildlife lectures.

[mark smyth]

here are a few photos from a guy in Spain

A very neat swift nest - it could be man made
x3 photos showing swift chicks in old starling nests

[mark smyth]

It's like trying for a baby -  After three years of trying I can confirm I have a breeding pair of common  swifts Apus apus. They moved in last Tuesday. This evening I was up a ladder adding a third nest to my gable but before doing any work I had to check there wasnt a swift sitting in the box. What a surprise to find a small pure white egg. Probably another egg tomorrow, 19 days to hatch and just enough time to fledge and head for Africa. Swifts have the longest nestling stage of any perching bird excluding birds of prey c5 weeks. You can see 3 black feathers glued to the felt by the swifts.

Anthony whats happening at your house? Are you still playing the CD? If you play it infrequently the best times are dawn to 9am and 8pm to dark

[Anthony Darby]

Nothing yet.

[mark smyth]

It's not too late. Lots of people reporting a huge arrival of non breeders over the last few days. Learnt today from the two men who study the Oxford museum swift colony that swifts arent keen on semi circle entrances. They by far prefer rectangular holes. One nest in their colony has never been visited in 50 years

[David Nicholson]

Have you abandoned the garden, no pictures for ages??

[mark smyth]

well yes. I sit out every night from 8.30pm to c10.40pm watching my swifts playing. I do keep taking photos and have soooo many. It wont be today as I'm at work and tomorrow I'm off to County Cork with the Ulster Group for 5 days to look at swifts, oops got carried away he he, gardens. All day yesterday I was in England looking at swifts and went to the best nursery in the UK - Beeches just off the M11. Bought 7 brand spanking new hardy Geraniums. The most stunning is one called Dragon's Blood.

[mark smyth]

I'm probably boring people to death with thread

Here are 3 shots of two bangers visiting my nest boxes. Banger is the term for a non breeding bird looking for a nest site or a bird that has lost a nest site due to renovations or PVC facias. They bang the exisiting nest site with their body or wings to 'see' who is at home

In the middle photo note how the head is level, white chin down, while the birds is about to flip over
 

[Armin]

Mark,
you don't bore me! I like the swift project and its progress.
I seriously consider to fix some swift nest boxes for next breeding season on my house wall close under the roof. Direction south/east is o.k.?
brgds