Fetch Birdwatchers
165 watchers
15 May
9:15am, 15 May 2024
2,961 posts
|
Surelynot
For me, the sound of swifts is the sound of summer. Summer in Scotland is as short as the time we see swifts, even shorter.
|
15 May
9:19am, 15 May 2024
65,896 posts
|
Derby Tup
Kenneth Branagh’s Much ado about nothing film has screaming swifts in several outdoor scenes. As you say Surelynot they are the sound of summer
|
15 May
11:11am, 15 May 2024
5,223 posts
|
J2R
They're the sound of summer for me, and also very much the sound of holidays in southern Europe. We had a holiday in a little town in south west France in 2022, where the streets were like narrow canyons, and the noise of the swifts barrelling along through these 'canyons' above our restaurant table was amazing.
|
|
15 May
11:13am, 15 May 2024
65,899 posts
|
Derby Tup
Ace
|
|
15 May
11:14am, 15 May 2024
65,900 posts
|
Derby Tup
They’re also the sound of summer in the Dales. Kettlewell is good for swifting
|
|
15 May
11:16am, 15 May 2024
5,224 posts
|
J2R
Kettlewell, top place!
|
15 May
11:21am, 15 May 2024
4,440 posts
|
jacdaw
Swift nubers down 65% since 1995, so not the sound of summer for much longer. data.bto.org Go out and buy a swift box / brick and install it on your house, please! swift-conservation.org swift-conservation.org |
|
15 May
11:27am, 15 May 2024
4,441 posts
|
jacdaw
"...Although widespread across much of Britain & Ireland, Breeding Bird Survey data have documented a significant decline in their populations. The reasons for these losses are likely to include poor summer weather, a decline in their insect food and continued loss of suitable nesting sites..." bto.org birdguides.com We can't do anything about the weather but we can stop blocking up potential nesting sites, add new nesting sites, stop using garden pesticides, and buy more organic produce. They need those aphids! |
|
15 May
1:18pm, 15 May 2024
5,225 posts
|
J2R
The huge reduction in flying insects is causing big drops in numbers of lots of species. And yet there are always easily enough aphids living in the lime tree outside my house to cause my car to be completely drenched in honeydew in summer  .
|
15 May
1:28pm, 15 May 2024
4,827 posts
|
paulcook
I've eaten plenty on my runs the last 2 weeks, especially alongside rivers.
|
Related Threads
-
Bird song watch
Jul 2024
-
Bird Attacks
Jul 2020
-
How do fetchies survive seagull breeding season?
Jun 2019
-
Swallows - Who's got swallows?
Apr 2016
-
Nesting Seagulls!
Jul 2013
-
Hedgehog watch and other nocturnal garden visitors
Dec 2024
-
Morning Light: The Fetchland Gardening Wire
Nov 2024
-
Beekeeping Fetchies
Jul 2023
-
Sunlight, Warmth, Happiness… and triffids
Jul 2020
-
No eye deer - the wildlife photo thread
Dec 2024