RSPB Spotlight Swifts and Swallows by Mike Unwin

Author:Mike Unwin
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472950093
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2018-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Most pairs choose a spot inside an accessible outbuilding, such as a barn or stable. Sheds, garages, mine shafts and wells will also do – and, in Asia, houses and shop fronts. Inside, Swallows use beams and other horizontal projections as a support – or build the nest into cracks and corners. In one study of 192 nests in Scotland, 41 per cent were on beams and 38 per cent in a roof apex. A rough substrate is important to give the structure traction, wood thus being better than cement, metal or plastic. But if the basic criteria are satisfied, Swallows can improvise around almost anything. Nests have been found built on picture frames, hats, lampshades, brackets, electrical wires, masonry bolts, chains, gear wheels, a sunflower seed head nailed to a beam and even the corpse of an owl. And motion is no deterrent, with nests recorded on oil pumps and, in Denmark, passenger ferries. Swallows will also happily make use of nest sites provided for them, including pieces of wood nailed in a suitable place and the artificial cup nests now available commercially (see here).

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.