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.

Swifts at home

I borrowed a video camera from my son and is about to blast you with videos of swifts. My own camera (not video) can take short videos, but the sound is almost non excistant. Whenever I go past LP’s house there are always swifts flying around. Lately since most swifts are back there are great moments of screaming parties flying by and I tried to capture the sound most of all, because they fly so fast, it’s difficult to catch them on film.
It was my first try and I captured a few really good moments.
My video: Swifts at home

This past week - 26 till 30 May 2009

It is some time since I have been here, my “other” life got in the way.
The swifts are good and well back and always there, even when other issues take over. Cycling I can see them flying or when I’m inside I can hear them calling.
Some nests show themselves even when you are not looking, thus I saw last Tuesday an old friend back in De Bayostreet.
In my street there are only my three nestboxes and another nestbox of someone who responded to the letters I posted in the houses in this area. Two years ago I discovered a nest in nr 10, but I was not sure. One day I watched that spot. After 45 min. I got tired and wanted to leave, but decided to make a photo of the suspected nest anyway as the lighting was very good then. Just as I made the pic, a swift flew into the nest! Talk of luck.

Last year I never saw any fly in or out; but I saw some droppings under the nest.
With all the swifts searching now, there are some action in my street, specially on the white eaves where the paint comes off. There is one spot at a house which is often flown at and on Tuesday I saw a swift disappear into it! From now on I will have to watch it closely.
Clair’s swift is back too. She knows for sure that it is there for 10 years already. Her swifts are living between two floors of her house. The entry is hole at a anchor on the back of her house. At first they thought they had mice, because they heard noises and eventually realized that it was swifts.

New nest 25 May 2009

The ingenuity of the swift in finding a home was once again proved today when I found a new natural nest at Apus College.

While I was cycling around in town, I saw this little head peeping out a nestbox.

A pair again? 23 May 2009

A jamboree in the sky! Only swiftophiles will know what I'm talking about.
It started this morning and ended tonight when they entered the nestboxes to sleep or took to the higher sky. It is not only today, it is already like this for a few days, but today I managed to watch and enjoy.
At 12:05 my heart sank in my shoes when again he came flying in with his lady friend in quick pursuit, but while he still entered the box she flew off. Once he's inside I don't hear him anymore. Poor mite, sits there and wonder when she enters while she is off.
It was very busy with many looking for nests. It is rather funny to see them fly up to the eaves and clinging onto the wall. White painted eaves with patches where the paint came off will be visited by swifts time after time.
Just after he entered the box, a party of 4 flew three times past the boxes and one gave a scream every time they flew past. From the boxes came no sound.
Tonight many dark clouds filled up the sky and I decided to watch my nestboxes much earlier. Actually I was on the street often today, I just love to watch the swifts.
At 19:55 one flew out of a box and away, but then ..... at 20:03 it was back and guess what? Both flew into nestbox 1. While he was still stumbling to get inside, she was also there and entered the box with him.
Al his efforts finally payed off.
Tonight I'm a happy chappy! ...... and while I write this I heard a hyeana calling at Nkorho cam and now a lion roared, but it ended a bit funny!

Halo around the sun - 20 May 2009

This morning there were many swifts searching for nestholes and I spent a lot of time just watching them.

Looking up at the sky so much you see beautiful cloud formations and this morning there was a nice halo around the sun.

Sunny days - 20 May 2009

Wednesday turned out to be one of those perfect summer days, no wind and sun! If you live in Belgium you know to enjoy those rare days.
On one of the yahoo lists I saw they spotted a Great Reed Warbler at the Abbey and because I have never seen it before I went there, but I did not find it. I did see something else, there were lots and lots of butterflies all flying in the same direction. It was so strange to see the one after the other going through. It must have been some migration going on and with no wind it was obvious.
I found one sitting on the ground in the sun for a few minutes, when I was photohraphing some flowers.

Babies are always beautiful, even these mallards. These have grown since I last saw them.

By noon I was back home and saw my swift trying to lure another one into his nestbox……….but the same story as before, she flew up to the nestbox and then turned away.
Later in the afternoon I was at my son’s and still the butterflies kept coming. There must have been thousands migrating. That is if the Painted lady is a migrating butterfly, I can’t seen any other reason.
In the evening I was outside much earlier and walked around in my neighbourhood.
I found another nest!
I’m really chuffed with this nest. It was one of those accidental lucky moments, when you look in the right direction at the good time.
There were so many swifts around the church tower and I saw two leaving a nesthole just as I was looking.



Soon I can start searching for nests, I’m so looking forward to that.

19 May 2009

Burgemeesterstr 29-27 date nest was found 14 May 2009

Tuesday I did not do much swift-wise. I went to the course in the morning , fetched my grandchildren in the afternoon and took them home and in the evening I went to see Millenium, the movie.
Since Easter I’m totally enwrapped by the Millenium series of Stieg Larsson and unexpectedly I saw there is a movie about them when I finished the books. Christmas came early this year! Just to add, I think Noomi Norén is the perfect Lisbeth Salander. I found a site on the internet saying, "Stieg Larsson, the man behind Lisbeth Salander". Totalle quant!
I saw swifts fly into a nest just across the street from the cinema. It was my first nest I found this season. Last year a friend directed me to this house, but I stood outside it for a very long time, but did not see any swifts and this year it became the first nest I spotted and I saw both of them fly into the nest. They fly in from the left and then crawl behind the gutter pipe into a gap behind the eaves of the house on the right.

18 May 2009

It was a sunny, but windy day with not many swifts flying about. Tonight the wind was much less and the sky filled up with our little friends.
Because I have to make a short film for a course I take and I still have almost nothing I cycled to LP’s house with the hope to film a swift flying into a nestbox. I saw several swifts fly into his nestboxes, but I didn’t get to film even one, I’m just too slow.
Rainclouds started filling the sky and I wanted to look at my nestboxes, so at 8:30pm I was standing outside my house.
Between 8:30 and 8:40 I actually had a screaming party of 4 fly up to nestbox 1 and one hung onto it.
Then much earlier as usual, 8:50,two swifts came flying in. One flew into nb3 with the other one following that close they both couldn’t get into the nestbox. The second one flew off. I don’t understand why this happens almost every time. One flies in and the other one when it can’t get in simultaneosly, it flies off! It doesn’t enter….. not while I’m watching anyway. It should fly one circle and enter after the first one.
Then it started raining.

Confusing nestboxes and a magpie 17 May 2009

Tonight I’m a bit depressed with my swifts. They are still confused with the nestboxes. I do wonder if it’s wise to hang 3 identical nestboxes so close to each other. It is the second year I watch the same thing. Tonight they sleep in nestbox 1, tomorrow in 2 or maybe 3 ….. or …… one swift fly in nestbox 1 and the other in nb 3 or 2!
They don’t recognise the nestboxes, all look the same to them. I wonder if it’s too late to mark the nestboxes? I’m going to do it anyway, but the question is, how do I do it? I could paint a red dot on one and a yellow dot on the other one, but do they recognise colours? Maybe it’s best to paint a round dot on one and a square on the other?
I stood outside from 8:30pm and watch them try to enter at 8:50pm, but it didn’t work or it was not yet time and they flew off. They didn’t fly too far, because I had two flying around the house most of the time I watched.
Every night while I stand outside there is a blackbird singing two houses from me. He sits in the gutter and sings his little heart out. Tonight he was silent and I thought he must have found a partner.
Instead there sat a magpie.Since a few weeks magpies are not my favourites, before I just looked at them as beautiful birds, but they were chasing the blackbirds terribly.
At 9:10pm my swifts were back and while one flew in nb 3 it had the magpie immediately behind him. It stayed on the ledge just below the nestboxes for a while. He better not mess with my swifts!

Two make a pair! 16 May 2009

While having visitors I noticed a lot of acitivity at my nestbox on Saturday night. Of course I could not resist that, so I went outside to have a look at my nestboxes and at about 8:30pm I saw TWO swifts enter nestbox number 2!
Today I will keep a close view at them as far as I can. I don't have webcams in the nestboxes and have to stand outside on the street to see them, which is not such a great thing. You only realise what a drafty place a street is if you stand there for hours on end to watch your nestboxes. I can tell now after spending two summers keeping watch. The first year I stood there twice a day when I played sound and the CD is about 75 minutes, but then I had the pleasure to watch swifts inspecting the nestboxes. Some days none came around.
The second year I played sound twice when I saw a little head peep out of the nestbox. It did result in standing outside much longer, because I never knew when I will see them. I finally realised that I can see them enter the boxes at about 10pm. So I went outside at 9:30pm and saw them at anything from 9:45 till 10:15pm.
If they are model swifts this year I should have a breeding pair ....... I do so hope!

Collegium Veteranorum - 14 Mei 2009

Collegium Veteranorum.
The Veteran’s College is to set the first step in supplying the swifts with nests fitted for them and for them only. In an old city like Leuven ( the university is older than that of Oxford) there are many old buildings belonging to the university.
The buildings are old, they are high and they need to be renovated. That’s why swifts love them. There are many holes that will supply them with cosy homes and they took advantage of them. In the Pope’s College there is more or less 30 nests and the Pope’s College is to be renovated in 2010.
On most of these old buildings there are holes just under the eaves where they used to put the poles to support the scaffolding to work on the roofs. All these holes are covered with plates and all kinds of fancy things to keep birds like doves out, because of the mess they make. Sometimes there are open slits where swifts fit through and they nest behind the block or whatever is in the hole to close it.
When they started with the renovation of the Veteranorum, Louis-Phillip (our local swiftophile) suggested they close these holes with a block, leaving a slit open for swifts to nest in and the architect came up with a drawer-like thing, which can be pushed into the putlog hole. On the outside the hole is covered, but it has a open slit of the size swifts prefer as opening for their nests. Problem solved!

Today 36 of these holes were supplied with their “drawers”!

13 May 2009

Tonight I was ready with my camera. Several nights I watched my swift come in from the same side. So tonight I wanted to make a movie of it coming in. It must be so easy, because I thought there is already a pattern of it approaching and flying in. It always gave me fair warning by flying once over the roof and round the flats and then come in with a swanky turn from the right.
Tonight it suddenly almost fell out of the sky. Instead of going round it came from the left and was already in the nest before I switched the camera on.
It entered nestbox 2 at 9:07pm.
Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

One doesn't make a pair- 11 May 2009

What a bummer!
At 20:30 I went outside to make sure how many fly into the nestbox and only at 21:10 one came and he flew into the wrong nestbox! Oh boy! How can he or she still be confused with the nestboxes? I knew it, I should have painted something on it, it is just so difficult to reach it.
I wonder what I must do now, start playing sound again?
At night when he flies into the nestbox he doesn’t make any sounds, it’s quiet. I have not watched yet in daytime to see what acitvity there is, only in the evening when it’s time for them to fly in. On Saturday I did hear him call when I waited for my lift and that was at 6am.
So far only one has flown into the nestboxes, it’s much slower than last year. There is still time …. I hope!

Mother's Day in Wezemaal - 10 May 2009

It was Mother’s day and I was treated to a barbeque at my son’s house.
We sat in the sun and enjoyed a lazy day. When I looked at the sky swifts were flying overhead and I especially enjoyed seeing house martins as well.
For the record my son lives near the church in Wezemaal.
While watching a swift, it fluttered with it’s wings like they often do and I heard it. I could hear them clapping! I don’t know how to describe the sound, or maybe like dove’s wings sometimes do? I was too late back home to see if my swift made it into his nest tonight.

When it's saturday, it's Holland

Waterland-Oost

View from the boat


Lychnis flos-cuculi (Echte koekoeksbloem)

Eriophorum angustifolium (Veenpluis)

This is the part I like when we walk where everything grows tall like this.

Today I went birding near Amsterdam at a place called Waterland-Oost. At 5:50am I was picked up by René. Usually I see that I’m ready on time and I wait while standing in the front door, so he don’t have to ring the bell and wake up the rest of my house.
While I stood there I heard my swift calling! That early in the morning! The sky was pink with the upcoming day and there was no wind and it was not too cold, just the freshness of a new day hanging in the air.
We were fortunate to have a lovely day, meaning there was no wind and no rain. In the morning we had a boat trip which is one of the pleasant things you can have in Holland. Before we left on the boat trip, we were treated with a cup of coffee or tea and cake. While we sat there enjoying it, I saw many barn swallows and a group of house martins. In the vicinity were a few houses, but I could not see even one nest for house martins. All the houses were very clean and neat and they had no nests for house martins in clear sight from where I sat.
In the afternoon we had a walk which was very pleasant with the warm sun on us. On our trip back home I saw some red faces from a slight sunburn. Later in the week I will add a link to the birding list of what was seen today.
List of birds seen on the trip.
Pictures of the day.
We were home well on time for me to check if my swift is back and yes, s/he was.
At 8:55pm he flew a few rounds in the street, but could not enter. Either the inflight looked too fast or it just flew over the house , all kinds of strange routes, but after about 5 tries it flew away.
Then at 9:10pm it flew low through the street. The front façade of my house is about 10 or 11 meters to the eaves and when I say it flew low through the street, I meant it flew lower than the eaves. Then it was gone!
I waited till 9:20pm, because by then it was too dark for it to fly into the nest.
Now I’m too tired to post any pictures, it will have to wait till tomorrow.

My swift is back on 7 May 2009

Today they are back in their hundreds. Everywhere you go there are swifts in the sky.
The weather is much better and at 8pm tonight it was 19°C in my garden.
Earlier today I was at my front door and I saw the first swift of this season flying low through the street. It is not unusual to see them fly through the street at breakneck speed, but so far this season they were mostly high above the houses. Seeing the swift this low, means that there are more swifts now. Maybe the screaming parties are back.
It’s not easy to be such a novice in the world of swifts.
Tonight I started cycling early-ish. On my way to Pope’s college I cycled past a old church. At first three of them formed a screaming party round the the church and when they came back they were already with five of them, with two trailing behind. I stopped to watch them. When I look up in the sky I see swifts everywhere. All the way here I already saw many swifts play.
At Pope’s College I saw them fly up to nests, fly past nests, forming screaming parties. In one screaming party I counted 12!
With the changing weather there must have been a second wave of swifts arrived today. From the Pope’s College I went to another site where we saw many last year and on my way there I cycled past Ladeuze square. It a big open space above underground garages, where it is market every Friday. Now there was a group of people learning some kind of dance. On this square there is a huge needle with a beetle pinned on it. It’s a work of art, it does depend on what you consider artistic.
The dancers were intent on their dancing and above them, four swifts were circling around the needle with the beetle, screaming loudly when they make their aeronautic turns.
When I got to the city archives and I saw how many swifts were all along my way and also there, I realised there is only one nestbox I must look out for tonight ….. and that’s my own.
Lately I almost got depressed when I saw on the yahoo lists how all the swifts came back to their nests. If I have a couple this year again, I stand a good chance of having a breeding pair, but they have to come back.
At 8:30pm I was watering my rose at my front door when one swift past my head very low. I just knew it, it’s one of my swifts. But I was not sure. You can never be sure with them, you have to see them go in or leave the nest and even that they do with such silence.
I took up my position across the street. Tonight I will wait till it’s dark, I must be sure.
At 9:05 pm I saw my swift return to it’s nest! I can tell you, at that moment you feel you can do cartwheels or a little happy dance. Now the swift season has started for me too. Last year I saw a swift go into that nestbox only the 20th of May.
What a joy,
What a pleasure,
What fun,
watching birds in the sky.

5 May 2009 - Watching sickles in the sky

Today the sky keeps it’s silence. Or so I thought.
This week has been a quiet week for me, but not for the swifts. There are some ” hotspots” where I always see swifts, so if I need to see them, I cycle there. My garden scores quite well too. Nothing more pleasant to sit in the garden on a warm evening and listen to their screams above, while being absorbed with the exploits of Lisbeth Salander.
The week started slow and on Tuesday I saw only one. Not far from me is a church and they have garages which they rent out. If I go there I can watch the back of the houses opposite me in my street. There are many nests in these houses, though some of the nests were closed. Some people just don’t like sharing.

At the garages the swifts have a wide open sky to frolic and fly and old houses with many holes.

On Tuesday I saw one swift only and it was flying up to holes in the houses. Was it perhaps a swift of one of the closed-off nests? After several tries it flew off.
It’s already a week since I made my last entry, but it’s a bit cold to stand outside on the street every day and watch my nestboxes. They just feel empty to me, I don’t hear any sounds from them or see any swifts dive down in the street to pass the nests.
I still don’t have a observation box to let me know when “my” swifts are back. On the other hand there are great webcams to watch. My favourite is of Natuulijk Henk where there are two nests with each a swift.
It is not that there are not swifts around, there are many in the sky. Today I took my grandkids home after school with the bus and while waiting for the bus, we watched a group of maybe 30 “playing” in the air.

When there are no swifts it's just as pretty to look at the sky.

Gierzwaluwen op Koninginnedag

een jaar duurt maar drie maanden
vandaag is het de eerste dag
omdat ze er weer waren

plotseling
als een prille letter op papier
zag ik de eerste sikkel
zwijgzaam de stad verkennen

later scheurden ze de hemel open
met hun geschreeuw
als een uitroepteken

dit is onmiskenbaar het begin
een feestdag

ze cirkelen hun gedichten in de lucht
ik vang ze op mijn lege blad

ze brengen de stad tot leven
de straten krijgen hun kleur terug
de lucht heeft het er maar druk mee
het is goed zo

een jaar duurt maar drie maanden
wanneer ik jarig ben zijn ze alweer vertrokken
zonder afscheid te nemen

de lucht gaat weer haar eigen gang
de straten kunnen zich weer verstaanbaar maken

en ik
ik zwijg
leg mijn pen en papier weg/