2009 season
| 2009-08-10: | None of the remaining three swifts returned tonight. They're all gone! |
| 2009-08-09: | Only one roosting swift in Box 3 tonight. Its partner has likely begun the long migration to Africa. The others should follow it in the next few days. |
| 2009-07-24: | Three days after its sibling, the second and final chick fledges. [Play Video]. That's pretty much it for this season! The swifts should continue roosting in Box 3 until they begin their migration to Africa in a few weeks time. There might even be the odd visitor to Box 2. I will leave both cameras on until then. Thanks for watching! |
| 2009-07-21: | One of the chicks has fledged! [Play Video] |
| 2009-07-19: | A parent returns, but one of the chicks is in the wrong place at the wrong time. [Play Video] |
| 2009-07-16: | One of the chicks takes its first long look outside the box. They could potentially leave any day now! There are lots of new swifts inspecting the boxes each morning now, despite them both being claimed. [Play Video] |
| 2009-07-08: | The two chicks in Box 2 are now three and a half weeks old. They've lost most of their down feathers and look a lot like their parents now. They'll be leaving the nest soon! |
| 2009-06-28: | The first bits of nest material have been brought into Box 3. |
| 2009-06-26: | The feathers on both chicks in Box 2 have developed dramatically in the past few days, particurlarly their backs, wings and tail feathers. They're starting to look like swifts now! The new pair in Box 3 are getting on well now and are spending a lot of time in the box together. It's a bit late this season for them to be nesting, but maybe next year? |
| 2009-06-23: | A second swift entered Box 3, but shortly after entering there was a brief fight. [Play Video] Both birds are roosting in Box 3 tonight -- peacefully, so far! |
| 2009-06-23: | Box 3 has had its first Swift visitor. Just the one so far, no sign of a partner. |
| 2009-06-20: | The chicks are left briefly for the first time, but it's not long before one of the parents returns with a late supper! [Play Video] |
| 2009-06-19: | Both chicks are doing well. The nearly continuous incubation by the parents means they're rarely visible on the camera, but you can usually hear them squeaking. As they get bigger the parents will start leaving them alone while they gather food. |
| 2009-06-16: | There are now two swift chicks in Box 2! |
| 2009-06-15: | One of the swifts eggs has hatched! [Play Video] |
| 2009-06-14: | Some very nice thunderstorms have passed over Cookstown this weekend. [Play Video] |
| 2009-06-07: | This great tit is showing up an all sorts of unexpected places! [Play Video] |
| 2009-06-02: | One of our Great Tit pair visits Box 3. [Play Video]. |
| 2009-06-01: | The Swifts appear to have stopped at two eggs and are incubating almost full time. The eggs should hatch in just under two weeks from now. Both birds take turns at incubating, unlike blue tits and great tits where it is the job of the female only. Box 3 is still empty but has started getting some attention from potential tenants. |
| 2009-05-29: | All five of the remaining chicks have successfully fledged! |
| 2009-05-28: | The weather did improve, and two did leave! There's a good chance the rest will leave too, if not today then definitely tomorrow. [Play Video] The Swifts have another egg. |
| 2009-05-27: | The seven chicks are nearing the end of their stay in Box 1. They've been spending a lot of time preparing their wings and a few brave ones have even taken a peek out through the entrance. There's a reasonable chance that some may leave tomorrow. Hopefully the weather improves for them! |
| 2009-05-25: | The Swifts have their first egg! |
| 2009-05-21: | All seven chicks seem to be doing well, and a few are looking like little Great Tits now. There are less than 10 days left before they leave. |
| 2009-05-19: | The chicks are getting big, and are almost spilling out of the nest cup. Sometimes with interesting consequences. [Play Video] |
| 2009-05-17: | The older chicks have started opening their eyes, and have well developed wing feathers. They're starting to look a bit like birds now. There are about two weeks left before they leave the box, into the big wide world. |
| 2009-05-11: | The swift in Box 2 was joined by its partner this morning. I have nicknamed them Kiki and Tombo. All seven eggs in Box 1 have now hatched, and all appear to be healthy and active. So far so good! |
| 2009-05-10: | A single Swift has entered Box 2 and looks set to spend the night there. Is it one of the pair that occupied the box last year? [Play Video] |
| 2009-05-10: | Four more eggs have hatched. Only one left. |
| 2009-05-09: | The eggs have begun hatching! I have uploaded a video of the second chick hatching. [Play Video] |
| 2009-05-09: | Today was when I predicted the eggs might start hatching, but so far none have. It now looks like it may be tomorrow. The parents instinct to feed the chicks has started though! [Play Video] |
| 2009-05-03: | I've updated the video codec the site uses to the latest version (details here for the curious). It has improved the video quality quite a bit, but as alpha software there may be bugs. Please let me know if you are unable to view the cameras now but could before. |
| 2009-04-28: | Just to prove me wrong, she has laid a seventh egg. One of the males most important jobs is bringing the bulk of the food when the chicks are still small, but even before they hatch he brings food for Pepper. [Play Video] |
| 2009-04-27: | The sixth and probably final egg has been laid today. They should begin hatching on or near the 9th of May. |
| 2009-04-26: | Pepper has started incubating the eggs. She may lay one more tomorrow, and if all goes well they will begin hatching in about two weeks. |
| 2009-04-25: | The first Swifts have been spotted over Cookstown. |
| 2009-04-24: | Rake checks up on his partner each morning by calling loudly at the box, and sometimes gets a reply. [Play Video] Not long after this Pepper layed her third egg! [Play Video] |
| 2009-04-22: | Only a week after her first visit to the box, Pepper has laid her first egg! She will lay one each morning for the next week or so. |
| 2009-04-20: | Pepper is spending her first night roosting in the box. |
| 2009-04-18: | The nest is now almost complete, and in record time. Things may get a little quieter now until she hopefully starts laying eggs. |
| 2009-04-17: | Nest building continues at a furious rate. Only a day in and about a quarter of the floor is covered. [Play Video] |
| 2009-04-16: | Nest building has begun! |
| 2009-04-15: | Today marks the first busy day in Box 1 - the Great Tits have really taken to the box now. Nest building hasn't started yet, but it's on their mind. [Play Video] Another visit by a female House Sparrow, but this time there's a surprise. [Play Video] |
| 2009-04-14: | Pepper takes her first step into the box. It's getting quite late in the season, will they still nest? [Play Video] |
| 2009-04-07: | The female Great Tit (Pepper) was back at the box, this time being feed by her partner (Rake). Still didn't go in though... [Play Video] |
| 2009-04-01: | The 1st of April, and the weather seems to be improving. The Great Tits continue to visit but not enter, and a female House Sparrow takes a look too! [Play Video] |
| 2009-03-27: | After a brief burst of activity from the Great Tits, things have fallen quiet again in Box 1. The weather might be to blame as it's turned bitterly cold this week, with even a few falls of snow. There are only a few weeks before the Swifts return, so I've started work on Box 2. It should be online soon. |
| 2009-03-24: | The Great Tit pair continue to visit, but today a Blue Tit decided to have a quick peek at the box too. [Play Video] |
| 2009-03-20: | At last, the first visit of the year! The Great Tit male finally enters the box. [Play Video] |
| 2009-03-09: | The Great Tits had a good look at the newly enlarged entrance, but it hasn't tempted them in yet. [Play Video] |
| 2009-03-08: | It's starting to look unlikely that a Blue Tit pair will take up residence this season, so I've increased the size of the entrance for the Great Tits. Will they move in? |
| 2009-03-04: | Still very quiet in the garden. So far the only serious interest in the box has been from a pair of Great Tits, who are too large for the Blue Tit size entrance. [Play Video] |
| 2009-02-19: | The electronics have been installed and the internal camera is now online. Things are quiet so far compared to previous seasons. |
| 2009-01-01: | Welcome to 2009, and the start of a brand new nesting season! Box 1 has been cleaned and the partitions re-installed, but the electronics are still waiting on a few bits arriving so no internal camera for now. Box 2 is getting a new camera too, but there is no rush for that - the Swifts won't be back for a while. I've also been tweaking video playback, so hopefully it should work better for everyone this year. If you can't watch any of the videos please let me know. |
2008 season
| 11-08-2008: | Both birds have stopped roosting, and are probably on their way to Africa. With luck they'll return next year and nest here! |
| 02-08-2008: | In an unexpected twist, the first bits of nest material have been brough into Box 2! |
| 28-07-2008: | The pair of swifts have started roosting again. |
| 26-07-2008: | A single swift entered the box tonight but didn't stay. |
| 25-07-2008: | A pair of swifts are roosting in Box 2 tonight! |
| 24-07-2008: | A swift was seen leaving Box 2 for the first time today. It's too late for a nest now, but it may return to use the box next season. |
| 29-05-2008: | All seven chicks have fledged! |
| 27-05-2008: | All seven chicks remain healthy. The male is doing a fantastic job feeding them. |
| 26-05-2008: | Unfortunatally the female of the pair has gone missing today. The male is continuing to feed the chicks alone, and hopefully he'll manage until they leave the nest in a few days. |
| 24-05-2008: | All seven chicks are healthy, the oldest are now 15 days old. They typically leave the nest on or near the 21st day which is this Friday, 30th of May. |
| 20-05-2008: | The oldest chicks are now 11 days old. All seven are doing really well. |
| 11-05-2008: | One more egg hatched. The older chicks are already noticeably larger and stronger. [ Video, 1.1Mb XviD ] |
| 10-05-2008: | Three more eggs have hatched. Two eggs remain. |
| 09-05-2008: | Three of the eight eggs have hatched! |
| 27-04-2008: | The eigth and probably final egg was laid this morning. Hatching should be on or near the 8th of May. |
| 26-04-2008: | Full time incubation has begun. There are seven eggs now, possibly one more to go. Incubation lasts for about 12 days. The first Swifts have been spotted over Cookstown. Box 2 will go back online if any take up residence. |
| 20-04-2008: | The first egg was laid this morning! [ Video, 7.1Mb XviD ] |
| 10-04-2008: | Nest building has resumed now that the unusual cold weather has passed. Nearly finished now. |
| 05-03-2008: | First bit of nest material taken into Box 1. [ Video, 1.1Mb XviD ] |
| 22-02-2008: | A blue tit has started roosting in Box 1. |
2007 season
2006 season
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