Getting Started in 2016!

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I've been playing the Swift Calls CD every morning & evening & almost all day Saturday & Sunday for one week now, but haven't seen any Swifts around here ... yet.

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Last Swift inspection of 2015 ~ 7th August!

The 7th of August was the last time I saw a Swift come to inspect the Nest Boxes.

Now I can only keep my fingers crossed & hope that this one survives the long trip to & from Africa & remembers where these boxes are.

 

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First Swift Photo ~ 31st July 2015!

With me playing the Swift Calls for at least 8 hours a day, for the past few weeks, I got my first photo of a Swift checking out the new nest boxes on the 31st of July.

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The first Swift flew by ~ today!

I've been broadcasting the Swift Calls CD now for a full week.

 I've had the calls playing from between 3 to 14 hours each day, but I had still not seen a single Swift in the area.

However this morning, on the 8th day, which turned out to be a dreadfully damp & dreary, wet, mizzly day, I had taken the player down & rested it on the window sill while I walked my dogs before switching it off & taking it inside out of the wet, when the first Swift suddenly appeared!

It flew around the house once, then once around my 1 acre paddock before headed South, without ever going near my boxes.

Hopefully the next one will stay a little longer & be just a bit more curious.

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Heat problems with a South facing aspect.

I was well aware that my South facing wall wasn't ideal.

This is why I adapted a common nest box design by adding the false roof, front & side to each box.

However, tucking them under the eaves also helps to keep the harmful rays of the sun from heating up the interior of each box, too much.

As you can see in the next two photos, even although this is 1pm on a sunny day, the boxes themselves are being protected & are mostly in shade.

 

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By the middle of the afternoon, only a thin strip of direct sunshine is reaching the lower right corner of each actual nest box.

 

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By 5pm, the boxes are all in full shade. 

 

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Attracting Swifts to my Nest Boxes.

The next job was to try & encourage Swifts to visit my Nest Boxes.

So first, I acquired a Swift Calls CD.

 

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Then, using the small speaker from a mini Stereo Sound System,

I removed the front from the lower nest box & started broadcasting the Swift Calls. 

 

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Here's a short video that will give you some idea of just how far these calls can be heard.

Swift Calls

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Here's a shorter video clip taken nearly 300 yards away & the Swift Calls can still be heard. 

I'm sure the Swifts can actually hear these calls from a lot further away than this.

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Fixing my Swift Nest Boxes to the wall.

First I made a template, to save having to try & balance a box & drill holes into the wall, while hanging onto the top of a ladder.

 

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Then I drilled 3 holes in the back of each box. 

 

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I used 3 x 7cm Screws to fix the boxes to the wall. 

 

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Then fixed each box to the wall, under the eaves. 

 

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Six Swift Nest Boxes now up.

The top box is at 6 metres, while the lower one is appx. 4 & a half metres up.

 

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As you can see, I used a long ladder.

However, for the sake of safety & comfort, 

I would recommend the use of a scaffold tower or cherry picker.

 

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The view from the lower box. 

 

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