Swift Half SWIFT update - 2nd May 2011

• I'm continuing to record footage from inside the roof in the hope of catching mating behaviour  - no luck so far but plenty of courtship!
• Both adults are bringing back feathers for the nest, both are roosting at around 2000hrs and spending the entire night (until 0830hrs approximately) dozing, grooming each other and re-arranging the growing mess of bits of dry grass and feathers.
• One of the birds (the female I think) occasionally flutters her wings in a "come get me fashion" but the male doesn't seem to cotton on too quick - either that or the nest-space simply isn't big enough (more on that in tomorrow's very "human" video, which might bring a wry smile to some viewers mouths!)
• By all accounts, the first (fertile I hope) egg (if mating is successful) may be laid around 12th May, a week earlier than last week.
• The weather here is still bone dry and sunny (almost three months now without any appreciable rain), but now with that stiff easterly becoming very strong. Can't be easy for the swifts that - and certainly not for any swifts that are yet to migrate here from the direction of the channel islands...
• The latest three clips, as usual, can be viewed HERE.