3 September β 18 April
the coastal calendar, shifted 14 days later for this region
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 | 3 September β 18 April | 228 days | Not here at all. The birds are on the wintering grounds, thousands of kilometres south. |
| arriving | 19 April β 8 May | 20 days | Returning from the wintering grounds; the first birds are ahead of the peak. |
| building | 9 May β 28 May | 20 days | Nest, burrow or den under construction, or being lined out. |
| on eggs | 29 May β 18 June | 21 days | Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun. |
| raising young | 19 June β 2 August | 45 days | Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed. |
| young have left | 3 August β 14 August | 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 | 15 August β 2 September | 19 days | Leaving for the wintering grounds; stragglers run weeks behind. |