GOODBYE TO "SWIFT HALF".... Thanks for the memories!

• Anna and I moved to Swift Half (we named it after we realised in the spring of our first year that Swifts nested in the roof each summer) in March 2009 and we leave in September 2011 – two and a half years later, but with three breeding seasons at “Swift Half” under our belt.

• And what a fantastic house and garden we’ve enjoyed. The house is 100 or so years old – the garden used to form part of a fruit orchard – foxes used to pup in the back garden (the earths are still there) and its clear Swifts have nested under the tiles for many years.

• I can’t write in detail about everything we’ve enjoyed at “Swift Half” for the past two and a half years – its all on this blog (pretty-well anyway – at least for the last year and a half), so below is simply a list of some of the things I remember from our time at the wonderful, messy old “Swift Half” and her huge messy, overgrown 120 foot garden.

• Birds in garden / house.

Swifts (of course!) house sparrows and blue tits nesting in house structure all three breeding seasons that we were here.

Robins nesting in decrepit shed.
Blue tits at least initiating nesting in a bird box
Blackbirds nesting all over front and rear garden. One nest successful (out of maybe 6?)
Woodpeckers breeding locally – five young in garden over three breeding seasons.
Pair of song thrushes during the cold winters.
Brambling during cold winter.
Goldfinches (when I fed them, before I realised the area was trich central).
Chaffinches (ditto).
Trich took about at least one sparrow, two greenfinches and a chaffinch in locality – that’s when I stopped feeding any birds apart from tits, jays and woodpeckers. I can clean our feeders, but I can’t guarantee that all the feeders in the neighbourhood gardens are cleaned properly and regularly.
Starlings, dunnocks and house sparrows, blue tits and great tits everywhere.
Jays attracted to the garden (before they were “stolen” by MrT!)
Magpies, stock doves (a pair) woodpigeons and collared doves regular in garden.
Long tailed tits regular in garden.
Wrens nested each year in rear garden – successful for three years straight.
House martins nesting locally – over garden each summer.
Occasional swallow over garden during each of the last three summers.
Grey wagtail at pond once, pied wagtail visiting regularly during last cold winter.
One hawfinch during the summer of 2010.
Then of course the budgie and lovebird – both in the garden (escaped from a collection nearby).
Sparrowhawks (a pair) in or over garden almost every day – at least three successful kills in three years (two blackbirds, one greenfinch).
Chiffchaff, black cap (pair) in garden occasionally.
Heron regular visitor to garden (pond).
Whitethroat (once in rear garden)

Birds over garden –

Egrets (occasional).
Kites (every day).
Peregrine (occasional)
Kestrel (occasional).
Hawks (every day).
Hobby (occasional).
Heron (occasional).
Black headed gulls (every day)
Herring gulls (regular)
LBB gulls (regular)
Green woodpecker (occasional)
Swifts (all summer)
Swallows (occasional)
House Martins (all summer)
Cormorants (occasional)
Common Terns (occasional)
Buzzard (regular)
Hobby (occasional during summer)

Insects of note in garden.

Blue mason bees.
Red mason bees.
Many sp. Mining bees.
Tree bumblebees.
Many other sp. Bumblebees.
Honey bees.
Feather footed flower bees.
Ruby tailed wasp.
Many sp. Ichneumon wasps.
Occasional potter wasps.
Stag beetles (once, summer of 2009).
Elephant Hawk moth (especially 2010).

Hummingbird hawk moth (once, in 2011).
Buff ermine moth.
Ruby Tiger Moth.
Scarlet Tiger Moth.
Buff Arches moth.
Burnished brass moth.
Magpie and small magpie moths.
Dark arches moth.
Old lady moth.
Many sp. Yellow underwing.
Footman moths.
Carpet moths.
Heart and Dart moths.
Drinker moth caterpillars and vapourer moth caterpillars.
Many scalloped oak moths (especially 2011).
Comma butterfly.
Peacock butterfly.
Red admiral butterfly.
Purple hairstreak butterfly (downed in storm).
Small tortoiseshells and eggs on nettles.
Occasional Brimstone.
Brown Argus butterfly.
Painted lady butterflies in huge numbers in 2010 (mass migration to UK in that year).
Many speckled woods and holly blues.
Plenty of common blues (especially 2011).
Black tailed skimmer dragonfly.
Emperor dragonfly.
Common darter dragonfly. (bred in pond).
Migrant Hawker dragonfly.
Brown hawker dragonfly.
Southern Hawker dragonfly.
Broad bodied chaser dragonfly (bred in pond)

Other wee beasties –

Zebra spider, fence post jumping spider, house jumping spider.
Many sp. Wolf spiders and funnel web spiders.
Large house spiders and cellar spiders (in privy).
Leeches, water beetles, back swimmers, water boatman and pond skaters in pond.
Beautiful demoiselle regular in garden.
Large red damselfly regular at pond (especially 2009/10)
Common blue damselfly regular at pond (especially 2009/10)
Blue tailed damselfly regular at pond (especially 2009/2010)

Larger beasties –

Muntjac – in garden at least once.
Fox - bred in neighbours’ garden – regular in garden (especially 2009/10)

Bats – regular over garden (including the white bat of course, made it over our garden in Aug 2011).

Plagued by rats for first year (hardly any since we poisoned them all before getting cats).
Many many woodmice.
Bank voles (Malu caught one in 2011).
Regular half dozen frogs of various sizes.
Dozens of breeding palmate newts in pond (but NO smooth newts).

Two hedgehogs in three years spotted (once both together and a few times separately).

Plants / fungi –

Damson trees,
the wonderful elder and honeysuckle,
pear trees,
brambles,
daffs,
hyacinths,
bell flowers,
yellow corydalis,
toad flax,
honey fungus,
pond plants (lily, marigolds etc…)
herbs and flowers (including corn flowers and sunflowers that Ann bought me for my 40th),
potatoes grown for two years,
wild weeds and shrubs,
thistles and ragwort,
raspberries and blackberries.

• I could write for hours and hours on all the fun Anna and I (especially I guess) have had with the wildlife in our garden and occasionally our house. (Sorry about the bathroom moth trap etc… honey!)
• We’ve been very lucky to have had the use of “Swift Half” and her garden for two and a half years (three springs) – and although we’ve done some good work (cleaned out the swift nest space), re-dug a much more successful pond (dozens of palmate newts loved it after we re-dug it), provided holes in wood for my favourite mason bees and fed the jays and woodpeckers well – much of the wildlife was already here, in the messy, joyful garden!

• I’m sure after we’re gone, the wildlife will remain (even flourish!) although I expect the pond will silt up pretty quickly.

• As for our new house – well…. Its about 10 miles away from “Swift Half”, but the house itself is only just over 55 years old – not 100 years old – so you can imagine, plans are already afoot. (Swifts have NEVER nested there for example – that needs changing!)

• Pond needs digging. Bees need homing and feeding. Bird boxes need building and locating. Plants need digging in. A tree or two needs planting. Nettle patch needs leaving. Compost heap needs forming.

• The garden is relatively large, with good mature trees (apple, poplar, leylandii and a.n.others), plenty of flowers etc… but if I get my way - I’ll turn it into an SSSI – just like the garden at “Swift Half”…… I’ll try to document as much as I can on this blog after a little time off (forgive me!)

• But that’s for the future.

• Right now I’d just like to post a final little message on a super garden here.
• Many thanks “Swift Half” (and all your wildlife and garden) for all the fun you’ve given us.
• I hope your next owners (inhabitants / residents / tenants) appreciate it all even half as much as Anna and I did…. That may be difficult – but you never know!!!
• Thanks “Swift Half”.
• From TBR. Anna. The hens (including Cutlery (RIP)) and the cats. You’ve done us ALL proud!

Swift Half update - 10th August 2011

• Yet again, its been a while since I posted this - so here's a little update, just days before we go on holiday and a day or two before I write a big piece on all the wildlife adventures we've had at this marvellous house and garden (we move to a "new town") at the beginning of Sept - and leave "Swift Half" for good.
• Firstly - on having a coffee and a cig in the garden after work today I am pleased to say that I saw SEVEN swifts heading WSW at about 17:30. Most swifts have already left our shores, bound for the Congo (and area) - so it was lovely to see my favourite birds (after a week plus without seeing any). It always makes me very sad when the swifts leave us - and I guess these will be the last I see in Blighty, before I catch up with them again (with any luck) on the continent...
• The sunflowers are still flowering. In fact the largest (neighbourhood prize winning) flower has produced another half dozen heads - which will probably flower whilst we're on holiday (a leaving present for our neighbours if you like!)
• One white valerian plant is still doing well, but the hens have trashed the sage and other flowers.
• I cleared out the pond last night and its clear that almost all the adult palmate newts have gone, but there are plenty of small baby newts in situ. They'll overwinter in the pond I expect.
• Damsons dropping all the time now - pears will rot (as always) before they drop.
• The spostles and hens have had fun killing a baby rat from mr.T's garden over the last couple of days (not before they brought it in the house, where it temporarily escaped behind the fridge!)
• NB. I'll write a big goodbye to SWIFT HALF and try and get it on this blog before we leave for our holiday, this week....

Swift Half SWIFTS update - 7th August 2011

• Just a quickie for now but in case you weren't aware (by following the action on my images website, where I've been embedding my video clips all summer) - all our swifts have now left the roof and are heading to the congo for the autumn, winter and most of the spring.
• The adult female was the last to leave, a week ago today (see update below).
• A round-up of this summer's swift-events can be found on my website, along with a thankyou video and a link to all my clips, always available on you tube.
• Anna and I go on holiday soon, but before that we move house and I start a new job in a new office - you can understand I'm a little short of time right now!
• Our time at "Swift Half" is swiftly coming to an end - but before we leave this lovely old (decrepit!) house and all its wildlife - I'll write a gurt big blog post (sometime this week) on what wildy-life adventures we've had here.
• But thats all for now grapple fans....

Swift half SWIFTS update - 1st August 2011 - BOTH juveniles now fledged.

• After a little research today, it has become clear to me that whilst I ignored (very unscientifically) the “evidence” that both our juvenile swifts fledged at sundown and assumed that they both sat near the entrance to the nest on their respective final nights in the roof, to fledge in the morning - the truth is both actually did fledge into the last dwindling light of the last two days. Please see clips 60 and 61 for my latest video updates.
• The evidence that I mentioned above came in the form of watching (and recording in the case of our second juvenile) both young swifts on consecutive days, spend their final day pretty-well glued to the entrance of the nest space, occasionally doing a few press-ups and not getting fed at all by the parents.
• As soon as the parent(s) returned to roost at night, both swifts seemed to beg for food (or calming preening attention), both were pretty-well ignored and both after a few minutes crawled purposefully towards the entrance hole, made a noise that sounded like an exit (a short “clip” as though feet had left the brickwork and wings had touched the bricks briefly (at 1:34 on clip sixty for our last juvenile swift to fledge) and I saw nor heard (important evidence that) any more from either of them.
• The noise (or lack of it) from each nestling on its fledge night was the most important evidence of all. Young swifts are quite vocal when they are in cramped company (whistling, purring, peeping constantly) and if they’re not making vocal noises, vigorous preening can be heard even if out-of-reach of the camera’s field of view.
• There was NO noise from either swift as soon as they’d crawled purposefully to the entrance to the nest, other than that final “clip” – as they left the nest, I now know.
• I had (again, very unscientifically) assumed that it would be too dark for our young swifts to fledge –and that they’d wait until the morning. Not so. In both cases (around 2115hrs BST) there was enough light in the sky (we’ve had a glorious weekend weather-wise) and even though that I am aware that swifts’ night-vision is not good – there was indeed enough light in the sky (for maybe 30 minutes) for them to both leave so late in the day and I assume fledge successfully.
• This seems to be often the case in swifts. They often wait for the parents to return at roost time – and then leave. Last year I think both our young fledged in the morning, but my memory may well be clouded, and even though swifts do fledge at any time (from dawn to dusk), dusk fledges are far from rare.
• Next year, when Anna and I will not be living at “Swift Half”, but in a town built post-war a few miles away, I will have to build a few swift boxes to my own design - and install cameras (and concaves) in such a fashion that I will have absolutely no doubt as to moment of fledging – all though to be fair, after the research I’ve done – I have little doubt this year that like I’ve said, both our wonderful little swifts fledged in the very last light of the 30th July and 31st July (which means my predictions of 31st July and 1st August were in actual fact about 3 hours out, to be exact!)
• So – where does that leave our “Swift Half” swifts right now?
• Well – I’ll compile a full chronological report of happenings this year in due course, but as for the two eggs that were eventually laid and incubated (not the three previous eggs that were laid by a “chancer female” and rejected by the late-returning female after a day-long fight) – both hatched 6 weeks ago and both young swifts developed well - both have now fledged and taken to the skies for at least two years of constant flight – mind-blowing when you think about it.
• Last night (for the first night since late spring) only one adult (the female I think) returned to the roof to roost (all other nights since the end of May, we’ve had two adults roost in the roof at night).
• Across the whole Kingdom of Animalia, it is widely regarded that breeding and sex is very risky for individuals in a whole manner of ways – this is true for our swifts also, so our adult swifts (as well as the airborne young) will right now be looking to feed up quickly and well - in preparation for their long flight south to sub-Saharan Africa – many swifts have already begun this journey from the UK already.
• It would not be beneficial for our adults to keep coming back to the nest site to roost for any length of time now, other than to rest if needed – but swifts as we all know, sleep on the wing if they’re not breeding – and our adults will revert to that behaviour as soon as possible. The energy needed to return to roost each night now that their offspring have fledged simply does not need to be expended.
• I expect we may see one adult swift roost for maybe two or so more nights and then one night this week, no bird will return to roost at “Swift Half” – our roof will be empty (at least of swifts – the sparrows are still there!) for nine long months.
• I will continue to record at dusk for a few nights, to see what night is the last night this year that we have a swift in the roof – but it may have already happened – it may be that last night was the last night of 2011 with at least one “Swift Half” swift in situ. Last year, both adults spent exactly 92 days in the roof before leaving – but this year was very different for a number of reasons.
• Each afternoon now, I see large flocks of martins and swifts high in the sky, calling to each other – and most of the swift flocks appear to be moving south – I always find this extremely sad.
• Sadder this year is the fact that whilst Anna and I have had a wonderful two and a half years at “Swift Half”, we now are leaving ourselves – so this years swifts will be the last ever we see from this lovely old house, where clearly they’ve been nesting for some time, possibly decades.
• I’ll miss them dreadfully – I really will – and so will Anna. They’ve become part of our lives, part of the house for three months each year. Swifts constantly amaze me (I’ll wax lyrical in some depth in a final round-up shortly) – they simply are the most superior of all birds.
• I will endeavour to attract them to our new house and build a fine box (boxes) for them – complete with an HD camera – but attracting them to an area which very probably has NEVER had swifts (the town didn’t exist pre-war) might very well take some time – but that’s for the future.
• As for the final few blog entries / website videos this year - there may be one or two more – and then that will be that.
• I’m heavy-hearted enough already, so please don’t get too sad reading this – I take great pride from how we’ve helped our local swifts (more on that later) and have been so privileged watching the intimate lives of the most amazing birds on the planet.

• I’ll wind this up for now, but this week looks like the last week ever of reporting from “Swift Half” on our “Swift Half” swifts…..