Swifts

I heard, from that know it all (but extremely nice man) Chris Packham on springwatch that Swifts, when they leave the nest for the first time can spend anything up to 4 years on the wing before they land again. They even sleep on the wing......

Our house is about 35 years old. We have regular visitors to the eves of the house every year in the form of House Martins. (Its always happy hour at our house). But yesterday, for the very first time since we have been here (7 years) two Swifts made an appearance and landed on the back of our house looking at the eves for a suitable nest site. It always makes the spiritual side of me think that we are lucky to be chosen by these birds as a home. The Martins have been with us for a long time. They nest in the front of the house, whilst these Swifts have taken it upon themselves to take up residence at the rear, much to the annoyance of the local Starlings. Their nest appears to be about 10 feet away and they are not best pleased.

I hear that Swifts are on the decline, mainly do to the changes in our building techniques. They rely on us to be able to build on our buildings. So I am very glad we can do our bit for them.