Common swift

Apus apus Today, 3 October

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

now away for the winter 209 days

away for the winter Bird summer visitor

The whole year

10 August – 30 April

dates recorded for this region, not shifted from anywhere

Sitting the year outGetting readyYoung aboutYoung leaving

Where to look

Screaming low over old-town rooftops on summer evenings; nests in wall cavities.

Worth knowing

The shortest stay of any bird here — barely four months — 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.

Look it up

photos, sightings and recordings, off this site

iNaturalist — photos and where people are seeing it Wikipedia — Apus apus xeno-canto — recordings of the call

Regions

where this species is on the list

Dalmatian coastKvarner and IstriaVelebit and the DinaridesSlavonia and the Pannonian plainTukhlia, Ukrainian Carpathians

Phase by phase

dates as they fall in the region chosen above

Phase	When	Length	What it means
away for the winter	10 August – 30 April	264 days	Not here at all. The birds are on the wintering grounds, thousands of kilometres south.
arriving	1 May – 11 May	11 days	Returning from the wintering grounds; the first birds are ahead of the peak.
building	12 May – 24 May	13 days	Nest, burrow or den under construction, or being lined out.
on eggs	25 May – 14 June	21 days	Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun.
raising young	15 June – 24 July	40 days	Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed.
young have left	25 July – 31 July	7 days	Young out of the nest or den, but still fed and followed by the adults.
leaving	1 August – 9 August	9 days	Leaving for the wintering grounds; stragglers run weeks behind.

Other birds in this region

Barn swallowBlack storkCommon cuckooCommon ravenEuropean robinGreat spotted woodpeckerGreat titTawny owlWhite stork

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