20 August β 4 April
the coastal calendar, unshifted
Screaming low over old-town rooftops on summer evenings; nests in wall cavities.
The shortest stay of any bird here β barely four months β and the sharpest exit: the town is full one evening in early August and silent the next. Facade renovation that seals cavities removes a colony permanently, because swifts will not accept a new site.
photos, sightings and recordings, off this site
where this species is on the list
| Phase | When | Length | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| away for the winter | 20 August β 4 April | 228 days | Not here at all. The birds are on the wintering grounds, thousands of kilometres south. |
| arriving | 5 April β 24 April | 20 days | Returning from the wintering grounds; the first birds are ahead of the peak. |
| building | 25 April β 14 May | 20 days | Nest, burrow or den under construction, or being lined out. |
| on eggs | 15 May β 4 June | 21 days | Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun. |
| raising young | 5 June β 19 July | 45 days | Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed. |
| young have left | 20 July β 31 July | 12 days | Young out of the nest or den, but still fed and followed by the adults. A fledgling swift leaves the nest and does not land again for two or three years. |
| leaving | 1 August β 19 August | 19 days | Leaving for the wintering grounds; stragglers run weeks behind. |