2012 has not been a good year for Swifts, with a wet and cold start to their breeding attempts. Even for those that did lay eggs the rest of the summer was very hard going in trying to find enough food to feed their young. I know of several breeding successes but for most colonies I expect it was a wash out. Let us sincerely hope that next year, May June and July will be much warmer and drier for these wonderful birds (and ourselves!). The season when they are with us is such a short one.

Before the Christmas rush begins, I am hoping that those lucky members/non members who have had Swifts nesting in their area will send the records of their sightings; grid references and dates etc. to our database through the BTO Birdtrack system. Details can be found on the “Records” section of this website.

Life in the fast lane: Scientists have recorded Swifts flying at a top speed of 69.3 mph. Swifts are thought to hunt their insect prey at around 25 mph and have recorded catching more than 312 different species.

Clocking up the miles: A Swift found dying in Oxford in 1964, 16 years after it was ringed as an adult, was thought to be at least 18 years old. In its lifetime, it is likely to have flown about four million miles – that’s equivalent to flying to the moon and back eight times!

A message from Edward Mayer to me recently suggested I take a look at this section of the RSPB website which shows how Chris Mason is helping to conserve nest sites for Swifts in Oxfordshire.

Nov. 2012: Audrey Wende: Please let me know how Swifts fared in your area at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

I have received this email from Edward Mayer and wish to share it with you -

Dear Swift Friends and Colleagues,
Some really interesting news! Dick Newell, whom many of you know for his Swift project work in the Ely and Cambridge and Olympic Games areas, and may even have met in the UK or in Berlin and Krakow, has developed an automatic Swift calls system, which can be operated with a simple time switch. It does not need any day to day attention. You "feed" it the Swift calls transferred from our CD onto a mini data card, and it plays the card at the times that you set on the timer.

You can see all the details and photos of the equipment here http://actionforswifts.blogspot.co.uk/

Please let Dick Newell have your orders, or ask him for advice, or tell him your thoughts at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

I think this system will prove ideal for use in "difficult access" sites like Church towers, and I will be trying one out at our new Reading church project next year.

Best wishes, Edward

Swifts are now arriving back daily from their time in Africa, and whilst some will be passing through Sussex, others will be returning faithfully to their own nesting sites. The birds which nest at one property in Lewes arrived back on the 26th April with the owners sending me the following - "Just thought we would let you know that some of the swifts arrived 'home' yesterday evening! Just before it was getting dark we saw one fly up under the eaves and pop back out again a couple of seconds later. After that we started hearing others at the end of the building, and throughout the night they were busy popping in and out and squeaking to each other."

A message from Edward Mayer on the 24th April reads -

Despite the cold wet and windy weather, Swifts are back! We are getting reports from all over the UK, Switzerland and Germany (where the weather is just as bad) of an early influx of Swifts. Only small numbers so far, and mostly feeding over bodies of freshwater, but they are here! So please start playing your Swift Calls CD if you are trying to lure them to your nest places!

Edward has some very interesting new news on his website which deserves a visit at
www.swift-conservation.org/news.htm

Best wishes for a great Swift Season in 2012