This dead swift was found in a rarely visited room at the top of a house which had the top sash slightly ajar, near where swift calls were being broadcast. Tragic but also a lesson learned.

When running a call system, make sure you do not inadvertently encourage swifts to enter a window. Especially if it is a room you will not visit regularly.

This was a large adult and, for scale, the shelf it is on is approx. 22 cm wide. The corpse was sent to Susanne Åkesson at the University of Lund who, at the time, was studying isotopes in swift feathers as part of her research into diet and migration.

This unusual peaked nest is designed to fit in the apex of an overhanging verge on a roof with a pitch of about 45° so it would be tidy and sheltered. However, when it came to mounting it, it was thought that the direction the nests face should be better protected from the prevailing wind for such an exposed site, so we moved it round and the pitch will help to shed rain. I have some reservations about the step ladders which are unnecessary and will assist other bird species to use the nests. I have suggested to the owner that if the nests are not taken up they might consider removing the two step ladders and seeing if that makes them more desirable.