INTO APRIL, and our Bradford bird survey has identified 67 different species in our district in 2023. Some birds will be here all year, some have already left and won’t be seen again until winter, while some will be arriving over the next few weeks.
Among our summer visitors are swallows, house martins, sand martins and swifts.
Swallows are typically associated with spring. Their migration and re-appearance often coincides with winter's end. The birds usher in a brighter, more colourful season. For that reason, these birds are symbols of good luck or positive change.
The swallow is a glossy, dark blue-black above and creamy-white below, with a dark red forehead and throat, bordered by a blue-black band across the top of the breast. The red can be difficult to make out from a distance, when the whole head may just appear dark.
The house martin is glossy black above, completely white below, and has a white rump and a short, forked tail. As its name suggests, the house martin can be spotted around our towns and villages, where they build mud cup nests beneath the eaves of houses. They can often be seen visiting puddles to collect the mud they use to build their impressive nests.
Sand martins are similar to house martins except that their upper parts are brown. They are usually found nesting on sandy river banks, but in recent years have nested in derelict canalside buildings in Shipley.
Swifts are one of the latest spring migrants, not arriving until early May. They stay with us for about 100 days before heading out on their travels again. In their time away, they have flown to southern Africa and back, each bird potentially doing so without landing once. Researchers have recorded swifts fitted with data recorders not touching the ground for ten months. It is suspected that young swifts may stay aloft even longer, as they don’t usually breed until four years of age.
They do all their feeding on the wing, flying through airspace heavy with invertebrates, using their huge gape to intercept as many as possible.
Swifts are dark, sooty brown all over, but often look black against the sky. If you get a good look, you might see their pale throat. Their wings are long and narrow, with a tail that is slightly forked, but not as much as a swallow's. Swifts have a piercing, screaming call, but they aren't noisy at the nest. An ancient belief that swifts lack feet gives them their scientific name, Apus, meaning ‘footless’.
They visit our country to mate and produce young. Swifts pair for life, returning to the same site each year for a little nest renovation before laying and incubating their eggs. Once the last egg is laid, both parents take turns incubating. The young hatch after 19 days, but this can take longer in cold weather. It will be a further six weeks before the young birds take to the wing (fledge).
Unfortunately, the swift is in danger. Its numbers crashed by 58 per cent between 1995 and 2018. This, in part, has resulted in swifts being added to the Red List in the 2021 UK Birds of Conservation Concern (BoCC) Report.
Red is the highest conservation priority, with species on this list needing urgent action. Species on this list are globally threatened, with big declines in breeding populations and ranges. That’s why swifts urgently need our help. By installing a swift brick in a wall, or putting up a nest box, you could give a swift a place to rest and raise a family. These are easily available online, or you could build your own.
When siting a box, three key things need to be taken into consideration. It must be at least 4.5 metres clear of the ground so fledgling swifts have a sufficient drop for their first flight. A southern aspect should be avoided, as the midday sun may overheat the box, and ideally it should be positioned under an overhang. Lastly, there must not be any obstacles, like trees and wires, in the immediate flight path as swifts struggle to negotiate obstacles in tight places.
Putting up a swift box at the height required can be tricky. I took the opportunity to place a couple on the back of our house last year when contractors were replacing old facias and soffits.
Setting up a sound system next to the box to play swift calls will massively increase the chances of attracting a pair of swifts. Aim to have the box and playback in place by mid-May. Swift calls in MP3 format can be downloaded from the Swift Conservation online shop (swiftconservation.org).
Swifts are so clean and unobtrusive that homeowners can be completely unaware that they are sharing their home with these birds. Swift parents regularly clean the nest site. They eat the fledgling’s droppings, which not only helps keep the nest area clean but gives the bird some additional nutrition. This also explains why there's usually no mess at swift nest sites.
A summer isn’t complete without sipping a cold drink whilst watching swallows, swifts and martins swooping around our streets on a warm, still evening.
*Paul Barrett is a member of Airedale & Bradford RSPB group. Visit: group.rspb.org.uk/airedaleandbradford
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