Swifts need our help

ThunderCat · 03-05-2014 7:44pm

I was in southern spain last week, near malaga, and there was a serious amount of swifts there. I saw hundreds of them just in the one town I was in. They outnumbered every other bird species put together. It was fantastic seeing them in flight and chasing each other in the town square. The noise was something else aswell, fabulous. I noticed a few of them were landing at the big cracks running down the older hotel blocks. Im sure some will stay but most are destined for further north no doubt.

As an aside I didnt see too many other bird species there - house sparrow, blackbird, herring gull, collared dove, feral pigeon, a few house martins and swallows but not many of either no crow species or starlings suprisingly. Oh and plenty of monk parakeets over there. Very exotic and noisy but a joy to watch. Busy builing nests in the palm trees.

But back to the swifts, they seemed to be enjoying the sun down there but they are certainly on their way up to us!

swifts need our help! · 04-05-2014 9:49am

screaming swifts are breeding swifts with non breeders hanging around with them so what you saw are resident birds. Our birds are probably still in Africa

ThunderCat · 04-05-2014 12:48pm

swifts need our help! wrote: »

screaming swifts are breeding swifts with non breeders hanging around with them so what you saw are resident birds. Our birds are probably still in Africa

Ah right. Thanks for that. I never would have known the destinction. There was certainly plenty of screaming out of them alright

swifts need our help! · 06-05-2014 10:13pm

What a day for swifts! Large numbers in Belfast this afternoon

cameramonkey · 12-05-2014 10:16am

Swifts are back in good numbers in Harold's Cross in Dublin 6W. Saw the first one last week , now there are many more.They nest in the mill building in Greenmount Lane industrial estate.

Great to see them back.

CYHSN · 12-05-2014 11:08pm

Saw a swift this evening doing tight loops around a neighbors house a few doors down, looks like it was checking out a hole in there fascia which was blocked with mesh wire.
Have been playing the lure the last few days lots of swifts flying high over house but none coming in closer to check, had a party of swifts check all along the back of the houses in the estate including ours literally just as we were putting the ladder to the wall to install them late last summer :rolleyes:
Had at least 1 bang the box just after we put them up so sooner or later here's hoping

Heres pics of our setup moved the boxes this year to the right of the house:)

swifts need our help! · 12-05-2014 11:49pm

Nice set up but is there enough clearance below the right hand box?

never move boxes once you have been trying to attract swifts. They could have shown interest and enetred and you didn't notice. When they come back they will always look for the nest they found the previous year. They are extremely site faithful. You really need to put a box back where you had a banger last year.

Educate your neighbour and ask him to reopen the hole or make it swift sized 30mm x 65mm

swifts need our help! · 12-05-2014 11:54pm

what calls and player are you using? Would you like me to put a CD of calls in the post? http://saveourswifts.co.uk/attractswifts.htm

swifts need our help! · 13-05-2014 12:02am

CYHSN wrote: »

Have been playing the lure the last few days lots of swifts flying high over house but none coming in closer to check

The swifts that are here now are the adult breeders that have nested before. They will never leave a nest site no matter how poor to move in to a comfy nest box. What you are trying to attract are 1st, 2nd or 3rd year birds that haven't nested before because they are too young. Their aim is to find a nest and attract a mate. They will follow the lure and find the nest boxes. They don't start arriving until the end of May in to early June

You will also attract displaced birds like the ones at your neighbours house. They are desperate for a new nest site. Your neighbours birds wont come to you this year because they are fixated on the existing nest site even if they cant get access. They will try and try all summer

The single most important part of a swifts life is finding a nest site and keeping it

CYHSN · 13-05-2014 12:06am

I have almost the exact same setup as you have posted in the link, just a slightly different amplifier and and I have the mp3's also from that website thanks for the offer though.
Have the speaker on the roof of our house just over the boxes there too.

CYHSN · 13-05-2014 12:13am

swifts need our help! wrote: »

Nice set up but is there enough clearance below the right hand box?

That's something I was kind of worried about too but the roof isn't flat it runs down at an angle and the swifts that checked the back of house last year actually checked at the very right hand side on the corner of the fascia so hopefully that's a good sign?

swifts need our help! · 13-05-2014 7:27am

I have recordings that were made here at my house. They're free so no problem sending them to you

CYHSN · 13-05-2014 12:32pm

Well that would be great I suppose anything that will help attract them here. I'll pm you my address, maybe I can make a donation on your website or something

ThunderCat · 13-05-2014 2:26pm

Saw three of them in Balbriggan yesterday afternoon

Woodville56 · 14-05-2014 2:04pm

Spotted my first swifts of the year this morning over the centre of Longford town, always had a few out here in the countryside but none so far this year !

Bsal · 14-05-2014 8:12pm

I also spotted my first 2 in Swords this evening.

martinn123 · 15-05-2014 4:04pm

My two regulars are back since Monday, in Julianstown, co. Meath.

3rd Year in a row, they fly in and our of my shed all day, not nesting there.

swifts need our help! · 15-05-2014 4:33pm

Martin it must be swallows that you have

martinn123 · 15-05-2014 4:45pm

swifts need our help! wrote: »

Martin it must be swallows that you have

Yes you are right, apologies, and thanks for the correction.

swifts need our help! · 19-05-2014 7:18pm

Non breeding swifts aka bangers looking at my gable nest boxes. The way to tell if a nest is occupied is to knock/bang at the entrance. Breeding age birds are on eggs by the time non breeders arrive and rush to the entrance to defend the nest. If a pair are inside they duet

The photos are from a few years ago

http://www.marksgardenplants.com/swifts.htm

swifts need our help! · 19-05-2014 7:19pm

Those who are waiting for CDs of calls. I must apologise. They haven't been sent

swifts need our help! · 19-05-2014 11:28pm

just in from Africa this evening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YgtERQ3754

swifts need our help! · 21-05-2014 10:54pm

for some reason youtube links aren't working

angeldaisy · 23-05-2014 5:13pm

Just watching a group of swifts feeding in the fields at the bottom of the garden. Never seen them nest though, although we are surrounded by farm buildings so maybe they nest there?

swifts need our help! · 23-05-2014 11:05pm

definitely swifts and not swallows? Ive never seen swifts feeding low over fields

angeldaisy · 24-05-2014 7:11am

swifts need our help! wrote: »

definitely swifts and not swallows? Ive never seen swifts feeding low over fields

Yep, I was surprised too, we see loads of swallows here normally. I had to Google pictures to check what they were. Not noticed them doing that before either.

amurphysboy · 26-05-2014 1:53pm

any additional help ? have made and installed a swift nest box but no acctivity- how long before i should see nest box being used?

swifts need our help! · 26-05-2014 4:12pm

we recommend at least two nest boxes. I would say three. This is because swifts can and do fight over nest boxes. A double or triple cavity box is as easy to make as a single.

Are you playing the calls? http://saveourswifts.co.uk/attractswifts.htm If there are swifts in your area the non breeders/bangers will come to investigate. There seem to be non breeders in already but they don't usually arrive until early June.
A guy in Portadown who has only just started had interest in his boxes, 5 or may 6, yesterday and today

amurphysboy wrote: »

any additional help ? have made and installed a swift nest box but no acctivity- how long before i should see nest box being used?

swifts need our help! · 30-05-2014 9:18am

May 30th 05.45am a swift lays an egg - if you cant wait it appears at 1 min 25 secs

http://youtu.be/-rQE76MjGNQ

Chisler2 · 01-06-2014 4:02pm

I spoke with local birders at the Feile at Turlough last weekend. They were doubtful that swifts would nest outside urban settings. Having watched clouds of bats feeding over Melbourne Australia evenings, attracted by the swarms of insects which in turn were attracted by the street-lights along the Yarra, I wondered what you thought?

That kind of concentration of insect food combined with high-enough nesting-sites are not available in rural settings.

Swifts need our help

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