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Status/distribution
Swifts can be found throughout most of Britain and Ireland
but are absent from the extreme north and west of Britain.
They are commonest in the warmer and drier south and east
of Britain where aerial food is most abundant. Swifts nest
almost exclusively in buildings and prefer nest sites that
are 5m or more above the ground, so giving it a good opportunity
to drop from the nest and gain height.
Swifts
have only been monitored systematically since the inception
of the Breeding Bird
Survey in 1994. Results presented in the Wider
Countryside Report web pages suggest that numbers
fluctuate markedly from year to year.
Timing
of migration
Swifts are one of the last summer migrants to arrive and are
not usually seen before the end of April. Large numbers tend
not to arrive before the middle of May. Migration probably
occurs on a broad front and at a great height - so it is possible
that some Swifts go undetected until they arrive at their
breeding grounds. In poor weather, very large numbers of Swifts
can congregate over water bodies, keeping close to the water
in search of insects.
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