Swift half news - 17th May 2010

• Finally - we have our first SWIFT EGG!!! (I am expecting two or three in total).
• Anna and I are very pleased!
• We should (as suggested above) get either two or three eggs in total (I hope all will be visible on the webstream, though the first egg is only just on the screen, so I'm in the lap of the gods re. viewable eggs now!
• Incubation is carried out by both male and female (not that we can tell them apart) and the eggs should hatch (if we get better luck than last year!) in between 18 and 25 days.
• Both parents bring insect balls to the young and they will be ready to fledge in between 36 and 57 days. This seems like a long window (blue tits for example all fledge in a three day window generally, after hatching), but the swifts are completely dependent on the weather and insects flying.
• If it gets colder and wetter again after any eggs have hatched, the developing swiftlets have a trick up their sleeves - they can virtuallu go into a torpor - heartrate and movement will all decrease to virtually nothing, until they get their next meal - most birds can do this, but none as well as the swiftlet!
• Right then. Even though Anna and I were virtually two weeks out with our predictions of when the first egg would be laid, we feel somewhat justified in that the last two weeks have been pretty darn cold for humans, let alone swifts, so we'll recalculate as below...
• Anna thinks the first egg will hatch on June 11th.
• I say June 13th.
• Anna thinks the first chick (if we are lucky) will fledge on July 26th.
• I say July 28th.
• Bear in mind also, that if we are very lucky, and we get two (or even three!) successful fledglings - when they DO eventually leave our roof for the first time, they may well not land on solid ground (or should I say solid roof) again for TWO YEARS!!!
• Once again, on writing the above, I am reminded just how incredible the humble swift is. My favourite bird of all.
• Lets hope for a good, successful year - all viewable right here, at TBR news -the home of "Swift Half"!