I was looking through some pictures I took on the 31st July of my non breeding pair in box 20a and interestingly to see a House Sparrow egg in the shot. This pair took to the box on 26th July and I’d seen the Sparrows nest building at the time but didn’t realise they had already laid at least one egg and just shows how Swifts will dominate a nest site if they choose. I shall inspect the box once they’ve departed as I’m intrigued to see just how much nesting material is inside and how the Swifts have worked on making it their own.
My chicks in box 15 are nearly three weeks old now and the parents are still working hard keeping them fed. I occasionally see the adults in box 3 disappearing into the box but as its on my front aspect it’s not always easy to keep tabs, especially at the rate of knots they come in at. I do however frequently hear the chicks, so hopefully in time as they get older they will start peering out the entrance.
Swift numbers have now drastically reduced now over the last few days going from double figures to just five doing the rounds this morning and I guess these are more than likely my resident birds.
Swifts & Things 