New position of cam seems to be working well. May think of moving it a bit nearer now they seem used to it. These two swifts are certainly more active that the other two. Came home about 21.30 to the screaming of eight swifts dive-bombing the house again. Although we have had some sunny days it is still cold for them especially at night. Managed  to catch the first one back arriving after a full day flying.

After yesterdays rather sad news I was unsure what to do. I decided to move the swift cam to another nest that I don’t think was here last year. The nest was a little difficult to access and I am unable to get a view inside the nest so I have no idea if there are any eggs. We will just have to wait and see. The nest is tucked under the eves of the roof probably in an old sparrows nest. The cam is not so close but will probably give better views of the swifts especially the youngsters if we get them. I was lucky tonight. There is a couple of seconds delay on the cam. I saw them both arrive above our conservatory and managed to film them both arriving together. They have slightly different personalities to the pair I got to know last year. They seem to stay together outside the nest and are regularly the last ones back. This evening, a lovely sunny end of the day had the good fortune of having eight screaming swifts dive-bombing  the house. Here is the clip of them arriving.

Can’t help but feel sad today. Two eggs now disappeared. The swifts were off early this morning, empty nest at 07.15. Viewed cam on and off all day to see if I could identify any intruders but only saw empty nest. One returned about 20.00 this evening but is still alone on the nest. A short clip from this evening.

On a happier note I found a previously undiscovered active nest. It should be possible to move the cam to this nest. I am planning to wait until Monday but if the current nest is abandoned I will try to move it.

A bad news day. One of the swifts was on the nest all morning left to enjoy the sunniest and warmest day of the year so far. I showed the one egg to a friend on the cam at 13.15. Rechecked the cam at 15.15 and there was no egg. As the swifts were not about I had a look in the nest with a mirror to check the egg had not moved and found an empty nest. This is the second egg that has disappeared I am sure the entrance is too small for a magpie and am pretty sure we don’t have rats in the attic so I am puzzled. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.They both returned to the nest at about 19.30 and have been a bit more active than usual.Here are a couple of clips from the web cam.

A longer clip showing active swifts

Was a bit worried last night. At 23.00 still only one parent in the nest. Reassured first thing this morning to find them both there. Still just the one egg. Looks like that’s it for this year but should it hatch it should be well fed. Nothing new to show from cam today Here is a video clip from last year of 3 day old swifts.

Yesterday we had gale force winds all afternoon and overnight with at least 2 inches of rain.The swifts went out in the morning for a couple of hours but returned at lunch time just before the wind and rain. They stayed in the nest overnight and only left at midday just before the rain stopped.

Still just the one egg. I am beginning to think that is all for this year (they fledged 3 last year). Short video showing the egg in the breeze this afternoon.

Managed to get a clip yesterday showing the Swift Lousefly (crataerina pallida). This little bug is a blood sucker but usually does little damage. They lay eggs in the nest that wait in the nest until the swifts return next year. You can see one running across the back of the nearest sweft at the start of the video.

Here is a photo I took last week. It shows one of the other swifts nesting in our attic missing the entrance to the nest. The entrance is behind the barge board not between it and the gutter. It managed next time round.