Common Swifts in winter (1 Viewer)

iraqbabbler

Well-known member

• Jan 12, 2015

• #1

Do Common Swifts ever "stray" into the Middle East in winter (Dec- Jan) ?, or are there resident / non breeding populations there ?. I am presuming that this period would be way too early for them to be on their spring migration and by the same token way too late for the Africa bound winter migrants.

 

Richard Prior

Halfway up an Alp

• Jan 12, 2015

• #2

In Lebanon the very earliest are in late February, the latest autumn stragglers in November.

Cheers

Richard

 

iraqbabbler

Well-known member

• Jan 14, 2015

• #3

So how would their presence in that period (Dec-Jan) be explained ?

 

Richard Prior

Halfway up an Alp

• Jan 14, 2015

• #4

Not sure I understand, initially you were asking if Common Swifts ever 'strayed' to the Middle East in winter, I replied from my Lebanon experience and records for Lebanon, ie, none in Dec-Jan!
Sorry if I wasn't clear................

 

Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Jan 15, 2015

• #5

Certain they're not Pallid Swifts of the dark subspecies A. p. illyricus?

 

iraqbabbler

Well-known member

• Jan 17, 2015

• #6

Nutcracker said:

Certain they're not Pallid Swifts of the dark subspecies A. p. illyricus?

Click to expand...

No I'm not certain.. Are Pallids more likely to be flying high over Baghdad, Iraq this time of year ? I mean more likely than Commons ?

 

Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Jan 17, 2015

• #7

No personal experience, but Pallid is mapped as resident / present in winter for parts of the Middle East, including Kuwait; given the lack of detailed info for Iraq, it wouldn't surprise me if that applied to Baghdad too :t:

Common isn't mapped as wintering anywhere north of about 12°N.

 

iraqbabbler

Well-known member

• Jan 19, 2015

• #8

Nutcracker said:

No personal experience, but Pallid is mapped as resident / present in winter for parts of the Middle East, including Kuwait; given the lack of detailed info for Iraq, it wouldn't surprise me if that applied to Baghdad too :t:

Common isn't mapped as wintering anywhere north of about 12°N.

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Thanks for the reply and interesting info.
They're certainly not resident around the Baghdad area, as I've seen them only twice, calling and wheeling quite high up and then they're gone within 5 minutes or so !. Still, something about them tells me Common rather than Pallid, but that's only a birder's hunch !

 

Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Jan 19, 2015

• #9

Must admit, I'd favour Pallid - checking up, Baghdad is only around 400-450 km from known Pallid wintering sites, and that's within range for a 1 or 2 day feeding trip in suitable weather conditions. Conversely, you're a good 2700 km from the nearest mapped Common Swift wintering sites.

Unless you're really close, they are very difficult to tell apart on sight; if they've been calling it gets a little easier, as Pallid has a slightly deeper, more 'throaty' call - try listening to the recordings on Xeno-canto to see which matches best:
Common
Pallid
(best to select recordings from as close to Baghdad as possible, in case of regional variation)

 

iraqbabbler

Well-known member

• Jan 19, 2015

• #10

Thanks Nutcracker, I'll go with Pallids for now, and I'll certainly pay closer attention to their calls if I do see them again ! ... All the same, it's a lovely thing to see swifts flying overhead in winter !

 

iraqbabbler

Well-known member

• Feb 6, 2015

• #11

Saw them again on a couple of occasions and indeed as Nutcracker suggests they are Pallids. They didn't call but the lighter colour was pretty evident.

I wonder if their status is changing from a wandering day feeder and becoming closer to being a wintering/resident ??? !.