Swift Half SWIFT update - Friday 20th May 2011

• Now I'm confused.
• There was a lot of activity in the roof again, before 0600hrs yesterday (when I started recording) and after 1200hrs, when I stopped recording.
• The eggs were all over the place again, the actual swifts appeared very different to the original pair (smaller, even greyer, more energetic -certainly faster on their feet) - and there was a whole lot more nesting material brought into the nest - this time all bits of dry grass.
• My guess is we have four birds fighting over one nest space, but thats exactly what that is - a guess.
• After deliberately not intervening the day before yesterday (the right decision as my expert friends kindly let me know) I'm afraid I had to take my opportunity very quickly after 1500hrs today (when I returned from work) to get into the roof, find and replace two of the three eggs (the third was split open - very sad) and last night, both swifts roosted as normal.
• I have absolutey no idea what is going on now - and I'm not utterly convinced the swifts do either....
• The pair do seem less "at lease" with each other than the original pair - either that or with all the fighting in the nest over the past two days, they are the same pair, but a little more stressed out - and they are displaying that!
• There are always between 4 and 7 swifts around the house at roosting time now - and I really am far from convinced the pair we have now in the box even laid these eggs. They just look different and behave very differently.
• Anyway, bottom line is, for now, we still have two swifts (whether they're the same swifts or not as originally in the roof?) and at the moment two eggs, being brooded rather inconsistently.
• I have no idea whether those eggs will stay in situ, and if they do, hatch.
• I have no idea whether we'll get any more eggs, because yes indeed our two swifts in the box now are a new pair?
• I have no idea whether one of the birds we have in the roof now is an original - and one is a new bird, thats thrown the original out?!
• Time will tell I suppose, but if there are any experts out there who can shed some light on this - please let me know what your opinion of all this is....
• New clips uploaded here.
• By the way - I'm afraid this is where the clips will stop until Monday - I'm away in the Brecon beacons all weekend for a stag weekend that I'm best man to.
• Can you wait that long for an update? What on earth will I return to in the nest come Monday?
• Until Monday then....