Is this a young Alpine Swift? (1 Viewer)

N

nightly_moth

Member

• Sep 25, 2020

• #1

The photograph is from yesterday, North West England. Three of them on this overhead electrical wire, seemingly being fed by an adult. The bird would fly towards them, and all three would simultaneously flap their wings quickly as the bird approached. I read Alpine Swifts are vagrents to Britain. It looks like they are breeding here. Is that quite rare? (If this is an Alpine Swift).

 

mummymonkey

Registered User

Supporter

• Sep 25, 2020

• #2

It's a swallow

 

N

nightly_moth

Member

• Sep 25, 2020

• #3

mummymonkey said:

It's a swallow

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Thank you! Just searching them now, I see it is a swallow

I thought I had seen swifts in the area, saw these but with the white chest..had a bird book out and the one below was alpine swift.. leading me to be misled

 

N

nightly_moth

Member

• Sep 25, 2020

• #4

mummymonkey said:

It's a swallow

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I can see the dark reddish colour now, under the chin

 

mummymonkey

Registered User

Supporter

• Sep 25, 2020

• #5

nightly_moth said:

I can see the dark reddish colour now, under the chin

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That's it. Quite late on to be still feeding youngsters - the last swallows left here last week.

 

birdboybowley

Well-known member.....apparently so ;)

• Sep 25, 2020

• #6

Also no swift species is able to perch like that either

 

N

nightly_moth

Member

• Sep 28, 2020

• #7

mummymonkey said:

That's it. Quite late on to be still feeding youngsters - the last swallows left here last week.

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I think it was youngster feeding, I'm not an expert as you can likely tell .. I got one picture of what looked like feeding, but it wasn't through the monocular I was using, so it's in the distance. I got one video, but not the best, just at the edge as I was moving. I went the next day, but they weren't there. Maybe that was the last day

 

N

nightly_moth

Member

• Sep 28, 2020

• #8

mummymonkey said:

That's it. Quite late on to be still feeding youngsters - the last swallows left here last week.

Click to expand...

Yup it was feeding. Screen captures from the video I took from 24th September. Is it quite usually for them to be fed as they sit on wires like this? The youngsters aren't very good at catching insects at this age, but will just about to go on a long migration? I suppose the youngsters would waste energy trying to catch the insects, and they need fattening up for the journey?

 

PYRTLE

Old Berkshire Boy

• Sep 28, 2020

• #9

Yes, recently fledged hirindines and other species that develop in a nest whilst they grow feathers and develop their flight muscles, continue to be fed by the parents till they are able to fend for themselves - eg, Robins, Tit species, Thrushes etc unlike waders and plovers which can run around and search out food hours after hatching.

 

Euan Buchan

The Edinburgh Birdwatcher

Supporter

• Sep 29, 2020

• #10

Swifts fly on the wing except when it lands on a nest.