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| Sassy and sociable, the swifts are back in town | Sassy and sociable, the swifts are back in town |
| (7 months later) | |
| Kendal, Lake District Every year they fly 5,000 miles to breed in the exact same crack or crevice in the exact same building | |
| Karen Lloyd | |
| Sat 8 Jul 2017 05.30 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 20.30 GMT | |
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| In their brief sojourn here, swifts wreak high-pitched havoc – they are all daredevil velocity and sassy sociability. Since Roman times at least, these urban Apodidae have exploited humankind’s structures. They are nest site faithful, returning every year to breed in the exact same crack or crevice in the exact same building after their 5,000-mile migration from Africa. | In their brief sojourn here, swifts wreak high-pitched havoc – they are all daredevil velocity and sassy sociability. Since Roman times at least, these urban Apodidae have exploited humankind’s structures. They are nest site faithful, returning every year to breed in the exact same crack or crevice in the exact same building after their 5,000-mile migration from Africa. |
| But according to the RSPB, over a third of the UK’s swifts have been lost in 22 years, in no small part because of habitat loss. Re-roofing or re-pointing old stone buildings can unwittingly lock swifts out; they may return from their long-haul trip to find their homes boarded up and, for that season at least, breeding will not take place. | But according to the RSPB, over a third of the UK’s swifts have been lost in 22 years, in no small part because of habitat loss. Re-roofing or re-pointing old stone buildings can unwittingly lock swifts out; they may return from their long-haul trip to find their homes boarded up and, for that season at least, breeding will not take place. |
| Kendal is great swift territory; houses rise above the town centre street by street in cliff-like tiers – and there’s an abundance of old stone buildings. Watching swifts reeling overhead is a favourite pastime of summer, but finding their nests is quite another thing given the sheer speed with which they move. | Kendal is great swift territory; houses rise above the town centre street by street in cliff-like tiers – and there’s an abundance of old stone buildings. Watching swifts reeling overhead is a favourite pastime of summer, but finding their nests is quite another thing given the sheer speed with which they move. |
| A group of swift enthusiasts have begun logging the birds’ breeding places. On a recent evening foray, we watched from the footpath below the back gardens of a terrace of tall Edwardian houses. Descending from giddy heights, individual birds peeled away from their raucous assembly, ready to deliver a bolus of air-farmed insects and tiny spiders to their chicks. | A group of swift enthusiasts have begun logging the birds’ breeding places. On a recent evening foray, we watched from the footpath below the back gardens of a terrace of tall Edwardian houses. Descending from giddy heights, individual birds peeled away from their raucous assembly, ready to deliver a bolus of air-farmed insects and tiny spiders to their chicks. |
| But a swift’s entry into its nest is like a trick of the light. The madcap arc of flight reduces in the blink of an eye from almost 70mph to almost nothing. With an upward swoop, one swift disappeared into a tiny cavity underneath the eaves of a house like an escapologist’s vanishing act. | But a swift’s entry into its nest is like a trick of the light. The madcap arc of flight reduces in the blink of an eye from almost 70mph to almost nothing. With an upward swoop, one swift disappeared into a tiny cavity underneath the eaves of a house like an escapologist’s vanishing act. |
| Down in the town, a big old mill is under restoration, and a grand job they’re making of it, too. We talked to the owner last summer, and though he didn’t know what a swift was until then, he has installed swift nest boxes under the eaves and agreed not to repoint nest-site cavities we had identified; a small but important act of reprieve for our avian Olympians. | Down in the town, a big old mill is under restoration, and a grand job they’re making of it, too. We talked to the owner last summer, and though he didn’t know what a swift was until then, he has installed swift nest boxes under the eaves and agreed not to repoint nest-site cavities we had identified; a small but important act of reprieve for our avian Olympians. |
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