Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: mark smyth on April 21, 2007, 12:45:10 PM
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hi all
Assuming everyone knows how to tell the difference between Swifts, Swallows and Martins would you like to take part in a programme to register the arrival dates for Common Swifts Apus apus? We need people across Europe especially if you are not in the shaded areas of this map. Send your sighting to Ulrich at swift@gmxDOTorg You need to send in your coordinates also
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here's how to tell them apart (C) phenology web site
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just now, and very exciting, I had a swift inspect one of my boxes. Inspecting simply means a close fly past
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here's a family of swifts on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=TATv62gsT8U (http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=TATv62gsT8U)
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Brings back happy memories of rearing a foundling swift on moths, until its appetite increased 10 fold (due to exercising its wings constantly all day) forced us to take more drastic action and supplement its diet with 'Minced Morsals' (yes, the doggy food advertised by Clement Freud and his double - a bloodhound) and lots of water. It eventually flew through the kitchen door, through my dad's legs and over the back wall while he was paying the milkman (remember them?).
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Anthony any swifts around your house yet? Two swifts today inspecting one of my boxes made me very late for work by 25 minutes. I was willing them to go in.
Anyone interested in the Europe wide swift project? All you need are two or three nest boxes, buy or make your own, cheap CD player from Tesco or similar and a cheap car speaker.
And most important a two storey, or more, house with a clear flight path in and out
http://www.londons-swifts.org.uk/ (http://www.londons-swifts.org.uk/)
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I'm sure you have heard that Swifts mate while flying? Here is the proof
http://www.ezo.wur.nl:80/UK/Press/Swift+photos/ (http://www.ezo.wur.nl:80/UK/Press/Swift+photos/)
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Mark, while looking at your link we were distracted by your awful avatar... so Ian, fermi and i have taken an executive decision to change it for you... how do you like the look?
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not as nice as me. I'll have to sort it out tomorrow
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This is what swifts are up against
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Looks like all they've done is changed the colour of the sh1te! >:( OK if they intend to replace with purpose built nest boxes. ???
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The problem is usually that starlings nest first, make the mess and the swifts lose out
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Looks like starling mess. I block up all starling sized holes in the roof. It's bad enough with Rudolf the red nosed - er yellow beaked black bird waking me up at 4 a.m. without hearing a starling family two feet away from my lugs. :( (BTW I call him Rudolf as his song is a variation on the first five notes of the song. ::))
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Every year a whole bunch of swifts arrive here and spend the summer racing and wheeling around over just a short stretch of road and gardens , always exactly the same stretch, never a hundred yards up the hill or down. It's amazing. I guess there must be a property in the vicinity that's ideal for nesting and roosting. But why do they always feed over exactly the same stretch of road and gardens every day, and nowhere else? Really is great when they arrive. An integral part of our summer and really fantastic to watch on a summer's evening. They really are the boy racers of the bird world...but a bit quieter than the boy racers on the roads around here!
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Martin what you see is a territorial display not feeding. Feeding swifts are the ones that you may often see crossing motorways in groups flying with a purpose often in a straight line. They also feed on the down wind side of a lake just hanging in the air waiting for food to come passed or over rivers when there is a large hatch of flies. Favourite food is spiders and hoverflies. All the swifts in your,loose, colony do these screaming aerial displays mostly in the evening and dawn. These are the breeders or those that have lost their nest sites. Arriving soon will be the second wave made up of non breeders and those coming of age. The latter need to find a nest site and hang on to it. The main problem with swifts is sharing nest sites with starlings. People get fed up and close the hole. Reducing the hole to 3x2.5cm stops the starlings.
Is your house suitable for swift boxes? Guaranteed no mess!
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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.
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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
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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!
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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
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I saw my first swifts in Dunblane last week. Played the DVD all weekend but not seen a swift since! :(
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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Nothing yet.
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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
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Have you abandoned the garden, no pictures for ages????? ???
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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.
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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
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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
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If the eaves are deep and give good shade then south is OK other than that you'll have to make do with east. It's took late for main land European breeding now but you will attract non breeders who will use the boxes now for roosting. Boxes can be bought from
http://www.schwegler-nature.com/Nests&Buildings/index.htm (http://www.schwegler-nature.com/Nests&Buildings/index.htm)
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Mark, thank you for the advices.
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I've just finished adding two more boxes to my gable. It's a real pain in the _ _ _ because my walls are poured concrete. None of my boxes are straight.
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they would look so much better in a straight line
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Don't blame the concrete, it was the installer who drilled the holes!! ;D
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:P :)
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looking in the attic just now the walls are just stones covered in a small layer of cement so how does the house stand?
Here is a short clip of swifts inspecting a nest box
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u8YuBGQWb0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u8YuBGQWb0)
Good luck this guy had a web cam. The released swift didnt return for a few days
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbQtZjBO8b8&mode=related&search= (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbQtZjBO8b8&mode=related&search=)
swift roosting in a tree by hanging on to two birch leaves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz_OCP_PSR8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz_OCP_PSR8)
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do you mean un-mortered stones?
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I should have taken a photo. The walls were shuttered and the mix poured in. The stones range from gravel size to the size of daff bulbs
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s'wonderful what you can do with gravity ???
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LISTEN OUT FOR THE SCREAMING NEIGHBOURS, ASKS RSPB
Public called Upon to participate in swift survey
Since the earliest human occupation of Britain and Northern Ireland, the swift has been living alongside man: first in caves; then on castles and churches; and finally in our homes. Recently, however, there have been worries that the fortunes of one of our oldest neighbours may be declining.
Swifts like to nest in old buildings, but renovation and development may be evicting the swift from some areas it formerly thrived.
To understand more about our swift population, the RSPB has launched a UK-wide online survey asking people to provide details of the birds either in their homes or in their neighbourhoods.
Swifts are often confused with swallows and house martins, but the all-black birds are easily identified, especially when groups of swifts fly at speed in noisy formations around nesting sites. These flocks are known as ‘screaming parties’.
The online questionnaire will ask people to state whether swifts are nesting on properties or whether people have heard swift ‘screaming parties’ around their properties.
The survey can be found at: http://www.rspb.org.uk/swiftsurvey (http://www.rspb.org.uk/swiftsurvey)
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I took this, rubbish, photo this moring when the non breeding swifts were playing knock and run. The resident bird siiting at the entrance to claim the nest box for him/herself
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just got this shot of a silent swift looking for a nest site
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Here's a photo I meant to show a few weeks back. This is the tower above the Oxford Natural History Museum. Inside each air vent are two next boxes for swifts - 100 in total. Along the lowest part of the tower base you can see what looks like the end of pipes. These all lead to a nest box on the floor of the tower
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I'm a proud father!
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here's a swift cam showing large chicks ready to fledge
http://www.schulen.regensburg.de/hhgs/?http://www.schulen.regensburg.de/hhgs/projekte/mauersegler/mauerseglercam/ (http://www.schulen.regensburg.de/hhgs/?http://www.schulen.regensburg.de/hhgs/projekte/mauersegler/mauerseglercam/)
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After a week of miserable weather we woke this morning to perfect clear blue sky. This urged the local birds to get in the mood
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checking boxes last week I found these in two. Remember swifts can only gather what is carried by the wind
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Mark,
interestingly, just last weekend recognized the first time ever swifts in the sky of my home town. Only a few in number, 7 to 10 max., were hunting together with hundrets or more swallows and house martins in the early dawn.
Maybe this were just young ones from 1st breeding generation who have already left their nest?
I couldn't find out their nest location(s) - they are simply too quick. Want to observe more the next weekend...
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it's thought that once out of the nest the young head straight for Africa. Young in Germany may still be in their nests. It takes 5-6 weeks for swifts to rear young from egg laying. They arrive from Africa is late April or early May, lay approx 10 days later. That works out that should should be out or getting ready
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about 10 minutes ago mum and dad left the nest to take part in the aerial displays so I dashed up the ladder to see what was happening in the box ...
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Mark, I know you are a very proud dad, but that is one ugly baby you have there. ;D
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all babies look like that....except to their parents!
cheers
fermi
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high five to Fermi! but yes they are ugly chicks and one of the ugly duckings of the bird world. This weekend I'll try to get a better photo of them
There was an intruder yesterday afternoon but when you have flown for up to 5 years non stop you're not brave to enter a nest box.
Also mum or dad with a throat pouch crammed with food midjudged the entrance to the box and aborted the landing at the last moment
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Scottish swifts are having a very bad time. Here's an email to the Swift Group
"Dear Swift friends, I have just spent a week in rain-lashed Scotland,
visiting Glasgow, Ailsa Craig, Edinburgh, Skye, Harris, Lewis and St
Kilda. In all that time I saw no more than 8 Swifts, all in the
Glasgow - Edinburgh lowland area. Population losses of Swifts in
Scotland have been recorded as being about 65% over the past ten
years I believe, largely due to the refurbishment of old properties,
and the demolition of many old sites. Not such a good place at
present for Swifts! Best wishes, Edward"
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What if every Scottish SRGC member put up a few swift boxes on their homes where they are suitable.
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I've seen dozens of swifts, but they don't seem to come near my boxes. ???
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Patience Anthony! It took me three years. How often do you watch?
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7 days later the chicks look like this. And some more prospecting swifts - sorry boys and girls no rooms left come back next year!
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Once the sun hits the boxes the photo quality goes up a little
I found two pairs nesting nearby under the flat roof of a mobile room or whatever is the correct term
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Mark
we had a report on the news over the weekend that a Dutch team have invented a robot swift to fly with a flock to see how they fly or some such thing! Have you heard about this?
cheers
fermi
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you're quite a bit behind down there. It was a wing attached to a mechanical arm in a wind tunnel
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here is a link to all the photos I've taken this year of swifts inspecting my nest boxes. The thumbnails arent linked yet but hope to have it done by this weekend
http://www.marksgardenplants.com/swifts/swifts.htm (http://www.marksgardenplants.com/swifts/swifts.htm)
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I'm shaking like a leaf and could kill tonight !!
At 10.15pm a sparrowhawk rushed across the road at low level and landed on my aviary roof panicking the birds. I threw a handful og gravel to get it away which it did and flew to the roof of a house opposite. It then moved and I couldn't see where it went so I left the garden for a better view of my house. It was sitting directly below my swift boxes. You can guess what happened ..... before I could throw more gravel one of my breeding swifts came in and in a flash the hawk had it by the body as it squeezed into the box. The swift hung on. I threw stones and shouted, with a neighbour, but the hawk wouldn't let go. Both hung on for maybe 10 seconds and the hawk lost it's grip pulling out a mass of feathers and it flew back to the same house. The other mate arrived shortly after and sadly there was no ID calling from inside the box. I fear one of my breeding pair is dead. This hawk could wipe out my colony in a week. I haven't had any birds return this week other than the breeders. I've only been going out after 10pm recently to see the breeders come home to roost and feed the young. I reduced the Schwegler 16 hole to 32mm to keep the starlings out but it was always a tight squeeze for the swifts. In all the other boxes I had removed the starling baffle to allow bangers, non breeding prospectors are called this, an easier access but never removed the one from the breeders as they had laid.
I'll check the box in the morning to see if the swift made it through the night.
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Susan and Fermi, the ugly ducklings no longer are ...
June 7th
July 4th
July 11th
July 20th
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Swifts are about to leave for their winter home :'( They are only here for an average of 96 days but late breeders like mine will stay until the chicks are fat and abandon them. The chicks then do press ups to tone their muscles, honest!, lose weight and fly once their weight is correct. Something I learnt this week is the young leave their nests 70 minutes after sunset.
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Some observations from tonight August 5th 2007
Eight screaming swifts have been present tonight including my pair who have just entered their box at 9.50pm and 9.55pm. It's amazing how they can see in poor light. It's almost dark outside and I could only see them against the pale west sky and my gable wall. One bird is still very shy to enter the box after the Sparrowhawk attack and has been trying to pick up the courage since 9.30pm.
Old Chinese proverb says "Swift with full throat can not scream". My two need to learn not to speak/scream with full throat crops. It just comes out muffled.
On Thursday, 9th, my chicks will be 6 weeks and should they have fledged during the week commencing 30th July? It is documented with Swifts that the chicks grow at a slower rate during poor weather. The adult are just beyonf their 96 days stay - 100 days.
When the shy parent flew past first time the whoosh of it's wings caused the ?sleeping chicks to run. I could hear their nails on the wooden floor
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goodbye swifts!! hurry back!
Looks like all swifts have now left for Africa. Any young in nests will be abandoned but they will continue to workout every day and leave when a perfect weight.
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Mark,
did I get it right: the young swifts will survive and leave their nest in normal condition while their parents are away?
Gerd Knoche, Solingen
Germany
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yes but it really only happens with late broods. The majority will have left a few week ago. Much like Puffin chicks that put on weight and are abandoned by their parents. They them lose weight and leave when ready
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here are some swift boxes on a friends house
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results of the RSPB 2007 swift survey http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-177038 (http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-177038)
A UK-wide survey of swifts this summer has revealed interesting variations between birds nesting in urban and rural locations.
Virtually all of the UK’s swift populations nests in buildings, but the 3070 homeowners responding to the 2007 RSPB Swift Survey revealed that rural homes were around twice as likely to have nesting swifts as urban ones.
During the survey, most swifts were recorded nesting in roof spaces, with almost two-thirds of swifts entering under eaves, and another quarter through roof tiles. Across the UK, one-in-eight swifts nested in holes in brickwork.
Unfortunately, these sites are all too-easily removed during property renovation, potentially denying swifts opportunities to nest. The RSPB is concerned that the UK’s swift population may suffer if suitable sites aren’t available.
Previous RSPB swift surveys have shown that swifts have a strong tie to older properties, especially those built before 1919. It is widely believed that these properties offer more nesting sites than modern homes.
In decline
There is some evidence that swift populations are declining across the UK, and the latest State of the UK’s Birds report suggests that the UK’s swift population has declined by 26 per cent since 1994.
'Swifts have nested on our buildings for centuries and they depend on us for their future.'
Dr Darren Moorcroft, the RSPB’s head of conservation management, said: 'Swifts have nested on our buildings for centuries and they depend on us for their future. We fear that the UK swift population may be declining, possibly through a reduction of nesting sites caused by renovation.
'Swifts use traditional nest sites, especially in old buildings. If these are destroyed, it is hard to entice the birds back.'
Help swifts in your area
Concern for Swifts – one of several groups dedicated to the conservation of swifts – has produced a five-point plan to safeguard existing nest sites or create new ones, these are:
Where possible, leave existing nest holes alone, working around them when carrying out repairs and renovations.
If not, fit an internal nest box behind the replacement material. Position the box and make a hole in the new material at the same location as the original nest site.
Create new sites by making appropriately sized holes in existing soffits or fascias.
Fit internal nestboxes in new builds or extensions.
Use external, wall-mounted nestboxes as a last resort.