Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2011 11:36:42 -0400
From: Kira Dirlik
Subject: Update on Swifts
I had so many wonderful replies and suggestions about the baby swifts. I had decided to wait and see what would happen before making any additional human intrusion, and the parents did come back and have been feeding the four babies as they hang huddled together on the fireplace screen. They don’t seem to be bothered by seeing me or my dog, or hearing the radio, etc (but any sudden loud noise, like cracking an ice cube tray, does send them into their weird screaming banshee mode for a few seconds).
They are so cute with their little bare butts, tiny claws, and pinfeather tails. You can see their hearts beating, and fuzzy feathers all around.
A few more details. My flue is at the top of my chimney so there is no obstruction below the actual chimney, and I do leave it open in summer to give the swifts a nesting place. I have always occasionally looked by holding a mirror in the fireplace and shining a flashlight up, so I see that they actually always build their nests really low…. if I was inclined to actually get into the fireplace
and reach up, I could actually almost touch it from a kneeling position. This is the first time a nest ever broke or any baby ever fell.
So I am really enjoying the show. They take quite a while to feed when a parent comes, so I assumed what one of you told me: the parents eat a lot of insects and make a mash that they regurgitate to give a decent meal each time they feed the babies. And I know that both parents feed them because sometimes both parents are there at the same time. The babies raise a happy ruckus when the parent comes (a completely different sound than the fear one) and the parent makes a distinct chirp. There are a lot of feedings in the early morning and in the late evening, with long periods of them just hanging there for hours in midday.
Thanks to all you many folks who wrote.
Cheers,
Kira