A significant increase in the number of swifts returning to nest has been reported by observers in the Keswick area.
Nicki Baker from the Keswick Swifts group said that a very large and thriving colony has been observed and recorded at the town’s Castle Inn and the birds were also doing well at Threlkeld.
Several Keswick correspondents have also noticed more swifts flying around over the past week or two. They are likely to be the first juveniles, returning from Africa to see if they can attach themselves to a colony, find a mate, and reserve a nest site in which to raise their families in the future.
“We can expect more to arrive over the next couple of weeks,” said Nicki. “Hopefully, this will mean that even more of us will get swifts taking an interest in the boxes and bricks we’ve put up for them, in the weeks to come.”
She said that there have already been several reports of swifts taking an interest in accommodation that is already on offer for them.
“Perhaps the most exciting comes from a house on Lonsties,” she said. “Two swift bricks incorporated into some building works last autumn attracted almost immediate attention from swifts when call sounds were broadcast, from early May.
“Interestingly, although the birds visited frequently and spent some time flying up close to investigate both the bricks and the speaker, they weren’t seen to enter the bricks for several weeks – but then swifts were seen regularly going into both of the bricks.”
Mike Hodgson, whose swift boxes were featured a few weeks ago in The Keswick Reminder, also reports a healthy degree of interest in them from birds attracted by his call system.
There have also been reports of swifts taking an interest in the Premier Inn bricks, even though these do not have calls being played.
Keswick swifts are aiming to identify, log and monitor as many as possible of the nest sites in the Keswick area. Ten people have now been trained by Dave Piercy in how to spot them – the wonderful colony in Blencathra Street always provides a good training ground, offering lots of opportunity to spot the birds quietly slipping into or away from their nest sites.
The group has also been delighted to hear from a number of people reporting swifts nesting near them. A “substantial colony” has been reported nesting at the back of a large residential block that has been carefully observed by one of the residents over several years.
