Swifts terrorising our balcony!
I love to sit there with a beer/wine while they scream overhead!
Put up a swift nest box last year (not a great situation due to our aspect/geometry) so of course we've got swallows in the porch instead. Loads of swifts screaming through the town too as usual. No shortage of crevices in shonky old stone buildings round these parts.
Swifts in Sussex have been pretty active in the last week, tho little action today as it is drizzly.
Have managed to get some good pics, one screaming party of 29 up high, and some others on low passes over the garden. And this one just about to have lunch.......
https://www.flickr.com/photos/16786159@N08/53872576032/in/album-72177720319018070/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/16786159@N08/53872576132/in/album-72177720319018070/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/16786159@N08/53873831124/in/album-72177720319018070/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/16786159@N08/53873890700/in/album-72177720319018070/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/16786159@N08/53873890700/in/album-72177720319018070/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/16786159@N08/53873482066/in/dateposted-public/
I thought it was perhaps time to resurrect this thread for 2025.
I saw a couple of swallows at the nearby donkey stables about 8 days ago, they've since grown to 5 or 6 zooming about. And a few house martins too. But the big sign of spring appeared today when I was wandering around Shrewsbury with Huey - a flock of 12 or more swifts caught my attention screaming over the Monkmoor area. Oh yes, what a lovely sound. Bring on summer 👍 Must check the river near Atcham for the sand martins in the next week or two.
No doubt others have had them for a while, so why keeping quiet?
I'm in furthest north Wales and I noticed today that the swifts are back - Def not here a few days ago.
The sand martins have been here a little while and was watching them nesting above a favourite beach last weekend.
Cuckoo's calls have been heard around here (top end of the Amman Valley, Carmarthenshire) for about a fortnight. No swift or swallows yet 🙁
A few swallows in NW Derbyshire so far. No swifts, house martins or cuckoos yet. Hobby up the top of the river Goyt the other day, just before it all went up in flames.
Half a dozen Swifts over my house (Salisbury). These were back a couple of weeks earlier than usual.
It's lovely to see and hear them screaming around the sky, hopefully lots more on the way.
Swifts were slightly early here (Germany), probably due to some decent weather. Heard the first ones on 28th April (I think the earliest I've ever heard them before was 27th). Nesting in a gap in my rafters on 1st May (usually is about 5th May).
Not heard any cuckoos yet. loasda woodpeckers though.
Saw quite a few house martins here in Sussex a week ago, flying around a bell tower.
Then saw a couple of swifts on May 1, probs a week earlier than usual, but haven't seen them again for a couple of days, suspect the cold north wind has turned them away until it warms up again. This has given the starlings a couple more days to get the fledglings out of the swift box before the swifts start taking a look.
I've heard more cuckoos in the last few days than I can remember for a few years. Seems like a few blackbirds will be having a bad time for the next month or so...
Saw my first swallows a couple of weeks ago, and some swallows and house martins last week, no swifts as yet, though.
Dorset - I saw my first swallows quite a while back, early / mid April. They looked like they were 'passing through'. Plenty of Swallows around now, hanging out on the phone / electricity wires so I assume they are staying here... I've heard Swifts and there are a few House Martins around.
This is my 9th summer in my current house. When we first moved here we had at least 2 house martin nests that were populated every summer. As did most of our neighbours. Not so now we haven't had a single house martin family for at least the last 3/4 summers. So my observations agree with the reported stats that House Martins are in decline. 🙁
sorry didnt have time to caption the pic, its a Montagu's Harrier
My first swallow was 21st April. Quite a few since then. My first cuckoo sighting was the same weekend as the first swallow, and I've heard a couple more since. Also sand martins, but no house martins or swifts yet. I was out with the local bird group watching nesting ospreys, and we also found ring ouzel and a peregrine nest with both adults in attendance, and I went for a walk to look for dotterel at the weekend. Turns out I was about two miles away from where they've been spotted. One bit of empty moorland looks much the same as any other to me, but then I'm not a dotterel!
Not entirely sure, I had a glimpse of a high flying bird with swept wings flying like a Swift out of my front window, but I had something to sort out and I couldn’t see it when I came back with binoculars. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for them now, where I live it’s just too urban for swallows, and house martins don’t seem to like the area either, probably because people don’t like the nests under the eaves and the birds shitting on the ground below, to which my response is get over it, hose and brush it away once a week, nobody cares, get over yourselves. It could be a lot worse - pigeons and gulls, the latter of which shit to Olympic standards, and it eats holes through your car paint!
I’ve now got a Swift box under my front eaves, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed a returning three year old bird is looking for a nice place to set up home.
As far as cuckoos are concerned, I haven’t seen or heard one for decades, sadly. Maybe this year.
couple more pics of migrants from this year - lesser kestrels
Swifts seem to have been a little delayed by that wet 2nd half of May, but quite a few of them here in Hurstpierpoint now. There seem to be 9 occupied swift boxes in our corner of the village which is great. We have a second box which has been getting some passing interest.
Pretty sure this box is occupied because interested parties are being rebuffed and we have seen some quiet comings and goings morning and evening 
Is there really no chance of fixing the title of this thread?
It grants every time I read it.
I'm the OP, it really annoys me too. FWIW, I'm a teacher.
