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Early Swift return.... (1 Viewer)

KenM

KenM

Well-known member
According to London Wiki Birds, an East Dulwich man had his earliest ever return to his Swift box yesterday by three weeks!! I know nowt about Swift breeding behaviour other than last year I had my earliest ever sightings of circa a dozen birds (my earliest) on the 21st April seen distantly from the house heading North. The East Dulwich man also has a 2nd Swift box whose occupants normally arrive between 16-17th May....their date return should be interesting?

Cheers
 
Got my first a couple of days ago over the garden. Two days later than my earliest ever here (in 2007), and I reckon about a week or so earlier than the norm, which is just before the end of the month.
 
Does make you wonder about arriving three weeks ahead of norm, when you consider that their UK duration visit is not much more than circa twelve weeks, it seems like a “quantum upheaval” to their annual life cycle?

PS am assuming that they are also arriving earlier in Southern Europe at their breeding sites too?

Cheers
 
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KenM said:
Does make you wonder about arriving three weeks ahead of norm, when you consider that their UK duration visit is not much more than circa twelve weeks, it seems like a “quantum upheaval” to their annual life cycle?

PS am assuming that they are also arriving earlier in Southern Europe at their breeding sites too?

Cheers
Click to expand...

Yes, mine will be just about, completely gone by the second week in Aug.
 
KenM said:
According to London Wiki Birds, an East Dulwich man had his earliest ever return to his Swift box yesterday by three weeks!! I know nowt about Swift breeding behaviour other than last year I had my earliest ever sightings of circa a dozen birds (my earliest) on the 21st April seen distantly from the house heading North. The East Dulwich man also has a 2nd Swift box whose occupants normally arrive between 16-17th May....their date return should be interesting?

Cheers
Click to expand...

Down here in Hampshire, they have been appearing for about a week now, although I haven't seen one. The earliest record ever was the 2nd April, and the normal timing is mid April.

Of course they spend (nearly) all there time on the wing and apparently fly at a very consistent speed of c. 25mph. This means that they must be doing around 600 miles a day.

I understand that they are opportunists at this time of year and think nothing of following their food source over hundreds of miles. The anti-cyclones over the UK must be attracting them in. Presumably if the weather turned they would then move off until suitable conditions returned.

I am aware that in previous years we have a number of periods in late April/early may when birds have yo-yo'ed between here and the continent until the weathered settled or the urge to breed fixed them locally.
 
andyadcock said:
I wouldn't expect to see one here, this far inland, for another ten days or so and not had one yet.
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I had my first here yesterday Andy, and there have been a few others already elsewhere in Leics/Rutland.

A Rutland birder who has 20 Swift boxes had the first bird return on Tuesday, one day earlier than his previous earliest. Another was back yesterday, both going in to boxes to roost.

Steve
 
Steve Lister said:
I had my first here yesterday Andy, and there have been a few others already elsewhere in Leics/Rutland.

A Rutland birder who has 20 Swift boxes had the first bird return on Tuesday, one day earlier than his previous earliest. Another was back yesterday, both going in to boxes to roost.

Steve
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Eyes and ears to the skies then, thanks Steve, not sure I've seen one in Notts before May?

The first ones I generally see are very high and picked up having initialy heard them.
 
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I haven't seen one yet but quite a few London reports over the last week or so of generally low numbers, though there was a notable count of c100 a couple of days back at Walthamstow.
 
aeshna5 said:
I haven't seen one yet but quite a few London reports over the last week or so of generally low numbers, though there was a notable count of c100 a couple of days back at Walthamstow.
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Our first one over the garden was Tuesday 21 April, so the same as KenM.

edit - forgot to say that this is for west London
 
Saw 5 over the front garden with 3 Red Kites at the same time. In the afternoon saw 5 again but no idea if they were the same birds earlier. Similarly frequently had sightings of 1 or 2 Red Kites through the day when I looked out, so suspect 3 was a minimum, especially as I had my largest flock of 10 less than 2 miles away last Friday.

Pretty productive day for raptors from the front garden with Hobby passing over, a low male Sparrowhawk + when it got humid in the afternoon a circling pair of Peregrines.
 
aeshna5 said:
Saw 5 over the front garden with 3 Red Kites at the same time. In the afternoon saw 5 again but no idea if they were the same birds earlier. Similarly frequently had sightings of 1 or 2 Red Kites through the day when I looked out, so suspect 3 was a minimum, especially as I had my largest flock of 10 less than 2 miles away last Friday.

Pretty productive day for raptors from the front garden with Hobby passing over, a low male Sparrowhawk + when it got humid in the afternoon a circling pair of Peregrines.
Click to expand...

When my dauter was at Uni, she stayed in Wycombe and described Red Kites as being like Pigeons, so common they were and on one occasion, she sent me a picture of one sitting on a neighbours tv aerial.

This all makes me wonder what has slowed / stopped their spread in to the Midlands?
 
andyadcock said:
When my dauter was at Uni, she stayed in Wycombe and described Red Kites as being like Pigeons, so common they were and on one occasion, she sent me a picture of one sitting on a neighbours tv aerial.

This all makes me wonder what has slowed / stopped their spread in to the Midlands?
Click to expand...

It's just in the last 2 years they've become a regular sighting from the garden & the numbers rising. Always love to see them!
 
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