This year we observe an unusual phenomenon: after the young birds have left the nests, the parent pairs continue to stay there for weeks. They spend the night in the nest and also return to rest in the now empty nest during the day, either individually or together. Do you make similar observations? Thank you for sharing them with our project "Picture my habitat".

I would like to thank you all for your contributions made in the last months. Please continue to collect your observations of common swifts with us in this project, now that most of them have returned to their breeding sites in Europe.

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/picture-my-habitat

Please remember to also report your observations of breeding or feeding common swifts to your local bird protection association or to the contact person at the relevant municipal office. This is the only way to actually protect their nests and offspring!

In order to participate your observation to this project, you still have to be a member. You then click on the picture of the observation that you want to add.

On the right hand, you select "Project", then click on the link with the title of "Picture my habitat". This opens a form which contains several fields. Here you can add more information about your observation.

Please note: You are free to fill out most of the fields. But there are two mandatory fields that must be filled out if you would like to add your observation to this project. These are:

"Habitat: breeding grounds and migration"
"Habitat (southern Africa): non breeding grounds" (if your observation was made during the breeding season, please select: "unknown")

Before you submit the form, remember to confirm your entries by clicking the button to the right of each field.

I am happy to hear about your current observations and thank you for your help!

Spyr

Recently we have been focussing on the call for observations from Africa. It is still valid: Observations from the winter residence of the common swift are still very welcome.

At the same time, your reports of swifts living to the east of the area called the north-western Palaearctic haven't gone unnoticed.

For this project it is difficult to define the geographic range of the common swift, subspecies apus, to the east. So far, I haven't been able to find any recent study with a critical discussion of their supposed breeding range in parts of Asia. Is this apparent lack of literature due to the different languages spoken in these countries?

Also, in eastern Europe and parts of Asia, there seem to live a number of varieties of common swifts that may be difficult to tell apart when observed while flying.

In order to allow observations of Apus apus, subspecies apus, in parts of Asia to this project, I need verified informations about their abundance in this vaste area.

If you know of any recent studies focussing on Apus apus subspecies apus that discuss e.g. finds of hurt or dead birds, ring finds or the results of observations of birds with senders, please don't hesitate and let me know!

In some regions it can be hard to distinguish between the different swift species. For example, there are places in southern Switzerland, where Apus apus, ssp. apus and Apus pallidus have their nests in the same village. Wintering in Africa, common swifts share their geographic range with several other local or migratory swift species. Some of them look similar, especially when seen while flying and against the sky.

What can you do when you find it difficult to provide your observation of a possible common swift with the right ID?

1. There is now a new field where you can add a link to your audio-observation of the same bird(s). If you managed not only to take a picture of them, but also recorded their calls, this is the place where you can let us know!
2. While in southern Africa, common swifts usually remain silent. You may have taken this exceptionally beautiful shot of a flying bird and know that this must be a common swift. Help the other participants in this project to agree with your ID by adding more pictures of the same observation. These additional pictures may not be just as perfect as your favourite shot. Nevertheless, being taken from a different angle or showing the bird moving on, they may point to a distinctive feature that wasn't visible before.

Scrolling down the list, you will notice another new field. In the field "Several species of swifts" you can add the names of other swift species that can be expected in the same area at the same time of the year.

Last but not least: The field "Would you like to let us know more?" invites you to add any information that may help to understand better your actual common swift observation!

Small changes to the fields: I have tried to improve some of the descriptions of the fields. Thank you for filling in all those that best describe your observation.

Common swifts winter in South Africa. Why is it so important that we learn more about their life during this season?

1. Observing common swifts during their stay in South Africa can be hard: They live airbound in sparsely populated landscapes. Here, their habitats overlap with those of other swifts that may look very similar. Their typical calls will not be heard again until they return to their breeding grounds in Europe. As a result of all this, there aren't many studies on the life and behavior of common swifts in South Africa.
2. The popular image we have of the common swift is determined by the few months it spends at its breeding sites between Morocco and Algeria in the south and the countries of the far north of Europe. If we imagine common swifts, we see them flying in towns, where they breed in the rooftops of buildings or niches in high walls. We know that the little bird achieves tremendous flight performance in its lifetime. But we cannot imagine from our own experience what it means for an organism to twice a year cross on its own mountains, sea and desert, defying the dangers and the climate on two different continents.
3. Since mankind is increasingly making use of this world in order to satisfy its own needs, the situation of nature has deteriorated. The ecological balance that enabled the way of life of our ingeniously adapted migratory birds, is upset. If we finally learned more about how swifts spend the "other" 9 months of the year, wouldn't that incite us to better protect them in all the places where they live? If we succeed in preserving the vaste living spaces of the common swift, countless other creatures that share them will also benefit: not least of all we ourselves.

The project has started, we've got some first contributions and helpful feedback. Thank you for all of this!

Some of you have asked, how to add an observation. This is how you can proceed:

https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/adding-observations-to-a-traditional-project-wiki/13190

Common swifts are migratory birds that travel the world. Let's try and find out together as much as possible about the habitats, where they live!

We would like to invite you to visit and contribute your observations of common swifts (Apus apus) to this new project:

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/picture-my-habitat

With the help of experts and all those interested in this species we would like to find out more about the different habitats of Apus apus throughout the year.

We look forward to the adventure of this project and thank you for taking part!

Spyr