So far so good. If I must believe the yahoo lists, I'm very fortunate, some persons have not yet seen anything while I can claim to have seen them almost every day.
21 April, I went back to Apus College and saw 7 and finally one flew into a nest. Not a nestbox, but where the roof and wall meets. The building is old and has lots of secret places for swifts to nest. This swift I have seen before as one of the early arrivals. First time I saw it I was not sure I really saw it and when I went back the next day, I kept watching that place and indeed it flew into it. Early bird!
The same evening I saw another swift flew into a nestbox at 71 Plein street.
Already 2 coming home!
24 April, I heard them for the first time while working in the garden!
25 April I stood out in the street before my house and saw 2, then 5 and then another 2.
30 April, while planting flowers I bought earlier, I heard them above me and when I went outside - unfortunately to see my boxes I must stand outside in the street - I saw straight away numerous swifts flying. They were not high, not drifting off to a distant destination, they were in the area known to them. The weather was much warmer and not windy, just right for them to play in the sky above home territory.
At about 20:35 I saw one flew in at 10 Rega street. It needed a second time round to find the right angle.
1 May the weather was not so pleasant as the day before, a rather cold wind was blowing through the street. Even on beautiful days there can be a cold draft, you only get to know all these inconvenientcies when you've stood long enough waiting and watching swifts.
Mine are not back yet.
Monday 2 May 2011
Thursday 21 April 2011
The 2011 season is open!
The anticipation is over, they are back!
Lately the mailing lists were buzzing with the first sightings of the Common Swifts returning. I admit to being a bit jealous when all around me sightings of swifts appear, you almost feel blind.
Monday at dusk I went to the Abbey. There are wide open fields and the noise of the city is much less, so it's a great area to spot birds. Nada!
Yesterday I stayed at home and for sure LP saw his first swift/s, so I had to go out tonight.
The best place is still the Pope's College, where the biggest colony for Leuven is situated, so there I went tonight. Pope's College
The best time to go look for them is just before dusk. A swift needs to see where its nesthole is located. It is not always the best visible spot on a wall.
I arrived at Apus College at 20:00 and decided to stay till 20:45. My expectation was that I won't see anything, then 45 min is a long time, but that's what I usually spent in watching a suspected nestsite.
At 20:20 I had a flash sighting. It was such a quick sighting, I could just make out that it was a swift before it disappeared behind a tree and even though I moved round I could not see it. 5 Mins later I saw another or the same swift. Now it was gliding through the air, a great sighting! I have seen my first swift of the 2011 season.
The Pope's College which is not a college but a dorm for male students, has a big courtyard where the most swiftnests are. Usually I stand on the side of Deberiot street. There are also a number of nests. Standing here I saw my first swift tonight and shortly after it has left I saw 4 more swifts.
To keep watching them I switched to the courtyard where I eventually lost track of them. With the idea that the evening went quite well, I walked back to Deberiot street side where my bicycle was. Just before I reached my bicycle I noticed two more!
It was getting better and better.
Being on the outside of the college I watched them circle above it. They came lower and lower and then went down like an arrow, first the one and soon afterwards, the other. I can swear they went down to their nests.
Tomorrow I'll take up position in the courtyard!
Lately the mailing lists were buzzing with the first sightings of the Common Swifts returning. I admit to being a bit jealous when all around me sightings of swifts appear, you almost feel blind.
Monday at dusk I went to the Abbey. There are wide open fields and the noise of the city is much less, so it's a great area to spot birds. Nada!
Yesterday I stayed at home and for sure LP saw his first swift/s, so I had to go out tonight.
The best place is still the Pope's College, where the biggest colony for Leuven is situated, so there I went tonight. Pope's College
The best time to go look for them is just before dusk. A swift needs to see where its nesthole is located. It is not always the best visible spot on a wall.
I arrived at Apus College at 20:00 and decided to stay till 20:45. My expectation was that I won't see anything, then 45 min is a long time, but that's what I usually spent in watching a suspected nestsite.
At 20:20 I had a flash sighting. It was such a quick sighting, I could just make out that it was a swift before it disappeared behind a tree and even though I moved round I could not see it. 5 Mins later I saw another or the same swift. Now it was gliding through the air, a great sighting! I have seen my first swift of the 2011 season.
The Pope's College which is not a college but a dorm for male students, has a big courtyard where the most swiftnests are. Usually I stand on the side of Deberiot street. There are also a number of nests. Standing here I saw my first swift tonight and shortly after it has left I saw 4 more swifts.
To keep watching them I switched to the courtyard where I eventually lost track of them. With the idea that the evening went quite well, I walked back to Deberiot street side where my bicycle was. Just before I reached my bicycle I noticed two more!
It was getting better and better.
Being on the outside of the college I watched them circle above it. They came lower and lower and then went down like an arrow, first the one and soon afterwards, the other. I can swear they went down to their nests.
Tomorrow I'll take up position in the courtyard!
Monday 28 March 2011
Barn swallow
Today I saw my first Barn swallow for this season at Abdij van Park, it was flying over. Unfortunately I don't know my south from my north and can't say in which direction it was flying. From where I stood it flew into the sun!
Friday 7 May 2010
The season of the Devil birds started for 2010
The days before the first Swifts arrive are always a frantic thing. All around me other persons have seen them, but on 19 April I got a phone call from Louis-Philippe while I was on my way from the Abbey to Apus College, the places where I check and the places where the first are often seen.
Specially Apus College with it’s 30+ nests is a lovely place to see them fly into nests. It’s open there and there are many nests.
He saw two fly over Apus College and while we stood talking I saw one fly with a swoop around a tree and disappear. It happened so fast I was not sure whether I saw it or not, but LP saw it a few days later and saw it enter a nesthole, so I was right.
The next day I went back, but stood on the side Deberiot street and I saw one Swift come flying in, made a grand circle and fly into nesthole B4. Another one disappeared into the inner court of the Pope’s College to a possible nest there.
On 22 April I saw 9 flying over, all in the same direction, still on their migrating route.
From earlier experiences I left the Swifts to fly to their nesting grounds the next few days, because I know it’s futile to try and find nests now, it’s too early.
Sunday 2 May I was one fly into a nesthole known to me on Geldenaaksevest 72 on the far right under the eaves.
Sunday was not such a good day and it was quite cold still, but I decided to go outside and see if there is any movement near my nestboxes.
When I went outside my attention was captured by very dark clouds in the distance with a group of swifts flying in front of it. Suddenly a very loud shrieking and noise made me look up at my own nestboxes.
There was a Great Tit hanging out of nestbox 1 making a terrible sound. I realized that a Swift has returned and kicked it out.
I never noticed that there were Great Tits in the nestboxes, because I didn’t look at the nestboxes until now. The poor Tit was sorrowfully shrieking while jumping and flying bewildered from roof to roof.
My Swift was back!
4 May. It was dreadfully cold outside, there was a slight wind which added to the cold. I found a truck to hide behind and be out of the wind. Later I looked and it was 9°C.
From 20:00 till 20:45 I was watching the nestboxes and I saw movement in 1 and 2 of Swifts and Great Tits in 3. Actually I went inside when Agnieszka found a little bird on the sidewalk. The german lady who walks her dog every night and shows a lot of interest in the Swifts were talking to me, so I did not watch very closely then.
It must be a baby Great Tit thrown out of the nestbox by a Swift!
On 5 May another two baby Great Tits were thrown out of the nest and the tragedy went on to Thursday 6 May when another two followed. It’s truly very sad to see this.
What a waste.
Specially Apus College with it’s 30+ nests is a lovely place to see them fly into nests. It’s open there and there are many nests.
He saw two fly over Apus College and while we stood talking I saw one fly with a swoop around a tree and disappear. It happened so fast I was not sure whether I saw it or not, but LP saw it a few days later and saw it enter a nesthole, so I was right.
The next day I went back, but stood on the side Deberiot street and I saw one Swift come flying in, made a grand circle and fly into nesthole B4. Another one disappeared into the inner court of the Pope’s College to a possible nest there.
On 22 April I saw 9 flying over, all in the same direction, still on their migrating route.
From earlier experiences I left the Swifts to fly to their nesting grounds the next few days, because I know it’s futile to try and find nests now, it’s too early.
Sunday 2 May I was one fly into a nesthole known to me on Geldenaaksevest 72 on the far right under the eaves.
Sunday was not such a good day and it was quite cold still, but I decided to go outside and see if there is any movement near my nestboxes.
When I went outside my attention was captured by very dark clouds in the distance with a group of swifts flying in front of it. Suddenly a very loud shrieking and noise made me look up at my own nestboxes.
There was a Great Tit hanging out of nestbox 1 making a terrible sound. I realized that a Swift has returned and kicked it out.
I never noticed that there were Great Tits in the nestboxes, because I didn’t look at the nestboxes until now. The poor Tit was sorrowfully shrieking while jumping and flying bewildered from roof to roof.
My Swift was back!
4 May. It was dreadfully cold outside, there was a slight wind which added to the cold. I found a truck to hide behind and be out of the wind. Later I looked and it was 9°C.
From 20:00 till 20:45 I was watching the nestboxes and I saw movement in 1 and 2 of Swifts and Great Tits in 3. Actually I went inside when Agnieszka found a little bird on the sidewalk. The german lady who walks her dog every night and shows a lot of interest in the Swifts were talking to me, so I did not watch very closely then.
It must be a baby Great Tit thrown out of the nestbox by a Swift!
On 5 May another two baby Great Tits were thrown out of the nest and the tragedy went on to Thursday 6 May when another two followed. It’s truly very sad to see this.
What a waste.
Tuesday 9 June 2009
New nest 9 June 2009
Today coming back from the laundrette I saw a swift fly into a nesthole. It was a new nest for me and it’s great when they fly into nestholes, without me looking. It’s high time to start searching for nests , if only the rain will stop.
This morning I set my alarm for 6:30, but it was so windy when I looked out my window that I crawled back into my bed and only got up at 7am. I want to spent some time looking at my nests, maybe a few hours in one go, to see exactly how often they fly in and out. There was nothing to be seen till 7:30 and I went back inside, because I had to leave at 8:30. Hopefullly the weather will get better soon so I can stand outside long enough to watch them.
Tonight I wanted to go photograph the nest I found today at 39 Frederik Lintstr. I make a photo of each nest I find to be able to recognise them again next year.
The sky was filled with the most amazing threatening clouds. Every now and then I saw a flash of lightning.
This morning I set my alarm for 6:30, but it was so windy when I looked out my window that I crawled back into my bed and only got up at 7am. I want to spent some time looking at my nests, maybe a few hours in one go, to see exactly how often they fly in and out. There was nothing to be seen till 7:30 and I went back inside, because I had to leave at 8:30. Hopefullly the weather will get better soon so I can stand outside long enough to watch them.
Tonight I wanted to go photograph the nest I found today at 39 Frederik Lintstr. I make a photo of each nest I find to be able to recognise them again next year.
The sky was filled with the most amazing threatening clouds. Every now and then I saw a flash of lightning.
I never made it to the house I wanted to photograph, because the rain soon started.
Monday 8 June 2009
Another egg on the sidewalk - 8 June 2009
Another egg fell from the sky!
So I don’t have to stand on the street so often to watch the nestboxes, I installed a place for me to sit in front of a window on the first floor. My house has apart from the floor level to the street – first floor or ground floor – another two storeys. The top storey are rooms rented out to students so I don’t have access to the floor just below the nests. To be honest it is in this part of the swift season, extremely irritating not to have access to those rooms. When I watch the nests from the street it is cold some days, like last week and I can’t hear the sounds from the nestboxes. It will be too expensive to install those boxes with webcameras, not because of the price of the webcams, but because it’s very difficult to reach them.
There is enough activity at the nestboxes. I am sure I will sooner or later have breeding swifts and I hoped for this year, until I realised that only one swift came back. Since then I have seen it often trying to lure another swift into the nestbox and it must have happened.
Then on 30th May I found a egg on the sidewalk under the nests. There was a rounded part of it still intact and I took it to LP to show it to him, maybe he will know if it is a swift’s egg. It was!
Today 8th June I found another egg on the street, almost next to the first one.
Why?
So I don’t have to stand on the street so often to watch the nestboxes, I installed a place for me to sit in front of a window on the first floor. My house has apart from the floor level to the street – first floor or ground floor – another two storeys. The top storey are rooms rented out to students so I don’t have access to the floor just below the nests. To be honest it is in this part of the swift season, extremely irritating not to have access to those rooms. When I watch the nests from the street it is cold some days, like last week and I can’t hear the sounds from the nestboxes. It will be too expensive to install those boxes with webcameras, not because of the price of the webcams, but because it’s very difficult to reach them.
There is enough activity at the nestboxes. I am sure I will sooner or later have breeding swifts and I hoped for this year, until I realised that only one swift came back. Since then I have seen it often trying to lure another swift into the nestbox and it must have happened.
Then on 30th May I found a egg on the sidewalk under the nests. There was a rounded part of it still intact and I took it to LP to show it to him, maybe he will know if it is a swift’s egg. It was!
Today 8th June I found another egg on the street, almost next to the first one.
Why?
Sunday 31 May 2009
Broken egg on 30 May 2009
Saturday in the late afternoon I found a broken egg on the street below my nestboxes. I still have to verify if it is a swift egg.
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