Swifts 2025
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Thu 1 May, box #1: Our first swift of the 2025 season arrived this evening at 7.23pm, presumably the same bird that spent last year’s season mostly roosting alone, without breeding. It did have a partner for a few nights just before emigrating last year, so perhaps they will be a productive pair this year.
Sun 4 May, box #4: Our second swift arrived at 6.07 this morning, presumably the same bird that had a traumatic 2024 season, having fights with its partner, laying four eggs of which only two hatched, then losing its partner to the kestrel and finally losing a hatchling that took a suicidal leap out of the box.
Mon 5 May: We saw two birds in #1 for a few minutes in the morning, but only one roosted. Later on, we saw two birds in #4, roosting together; we suspect that the new bird is the same one that visited #1 this morning.
Tue 6 May: One bird roosting in each of boxes 1, 2, 4 when the cameras switched off at 11pm.
Wed 7 May: When the cameras came on at 5am there were two birds in #1 and none in #2. Tonight, just one bird roosting in each of 1 and 4.
Fri 9 May: A swift arrived in #3, the first time this box has been occupied this year. I saw a group of 9 overhead this evening.
Sun 11 May: Over the weekend three more swifts have arrived and today ended with pairs in each of #1, #3, #4. We have seen a swift briefly in #2 on several occasions, but not roosting.
Temperature chart
This chart shows the maximum and minimum temperatures in box #2 this summer. Box #2 is usually the one that gets warmest, being inside the top west corner of the gable end.
