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Swifts (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Monahawk
- Start date
Jon Turner
Well-known member
3 again this evening near Braunton, N Devon.
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Not seen any up here (Northumbs) for about 10 days now. I'd not be surprised to see odd ones yet though over the next couple of weeks if the weather gets a bit warmer.
chris butterworth
aka The Person Named Above
Just had 4 over Heswall, Wirral, belting southward ( there's a bit of a weather front moving in ) and a single feeding, this morning, over the house.
crocuscottage
Member
Which Swift do you folks get to see? By me we have had about a dozen Chimney Swifts for the first time ever. Has been super fun listening for them and then finding them. Hard as heck to get a photo of though. They seem to left though, been a few days since we have seen or heard any.
halftwo
Wird Batcher
Common swift here - Apus apus.
N00bBirder
Member
saw swifts here over my house in Warrington, NW England on Sunday. I thought they had gone as I hadn't seen them for about a week before that.
lazza
Well-known member
As with previous years, there are swifts over our garden when I leave on my holiday (usually the first weekend of August) and none when I get back two weeks later!
Out of interest, how quickly do swifts migrate? How long do they take to get to the regions they over-winter, and how far do they (or can they) travel each day? It occasionally crosses my mind, as I watch the swifts over my in-laws' house in Spain during our two annual visits (in April and August) whether any of them are "British" swifts on the way to breed or on their way to Africa. I would assume the main migration route from the UK is over Spain...?
Out of interest, how quickly do swifts migrate? How long do they take to get to the regions they over-winter, and how far do they (or can they) travel each day? It occasionally crosses my mind, as I watch the swifts over my in-laws' house in Spain during our two annual visits (in April and August) whether any of them are "British" swifts on the way to breed or on their way to Africa. I would assume the main migration route from the UK is over Spain...?
halftwo
Wird Batcher
Well it is known that Swifts breeding in London feed as far as Spain daily, so that distance in just a few hours is no problem.
They can pack their throats with flies (to bring back to the nest) & are known to do this when starting out in migration - probably a good idea when crossing the Sahara.
They can pack their throats with flies (to bring back to the nest) & are known to do this when starting out in migration - probably a good idea when crossing the Sahara.
Gill Osborne
Well-known member
I've got two of my 'paper delivery boys' (I say boys, they're both in their 50's 
) keeping an eye out too and one reported back yesterday morning that there were still the occasional one or two around St Paul's Church here in Alnwick where they breed.
I personally haven't seen any since Tuesday 19th when five went screaming past my living room window at 10.35am! :t:
) keeping an eye out too and one reported back yesterday morning that there were still the occasional one or two around St Paul's Church here in Alnwick where they breed. I personally haven't seen any since Tuesday 19th when five went screaming past my living room window at 10.35am! :t:
lazza
Well-known member
:eek!::eek!::eek!:
Really?! That must be a 1500-2000 mile round trip.....DAILY! Mind you, I have heard rumours about Spanish flies helping with...er....breeding!
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