30 September β 29 April
the coastal calendar, shifted 10 days later for this region
Sand and loess banks, quarry faces and river cuttings; heard overhead before seen.
Nests in a metre-long tunnel dug by the pair, and the colony returns to the same bank year after year β which is why a single afternoon of quarry work in May can end fifty pairs at once.
photos, sightings and recordings, off this site
where this species is on the list
| Phase | When | Length | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| away for the winter | 30 September β 29 April | 212 days | Not here at all. The birds are on the wintering grounds, thousands of kilometres south. |
| arriving | 30 April β 14 May | 15 days | Returning from the wintering grounds; the first birds are ahead of the peak. |
| building | 15 May β 3 June | 20 days | Nest, burrow or den under construction, or being lined out. |
| on eggs | 4 June β 24 June | 21 days | Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun. |
| raising young | 25 June β 24 July | 30 days | Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed. |
| young have left | 25 July β 3 September | 41 days | Young out of the nest or den, but still fed and followed by the adults. |
| leaving | 4 September β 29 September | 26 days | Leaving for the wintering grounds; stragglers run weeks behind. |