Monday 28 April

They're back! This morning the first 2 swifts were seen exiting their nest boxes in the tower with another party of 11 spotted flying high overhead and beginning to scream. Although a few days before their average arrival date of the 5th of May the warm weather and southerly breezes provided the perfect opportunity for the last leg of their journey from southern Africa. An eagle-eyed volunteer from Oxford Swift City, who monitor the number of breeding sites within the ring road, spotted Oxfordshire's first swift over Farmoor reservoir, a favourite local feeding ground, on 21 April but this is our first report of nesting behaviour here at the Museum

Monday 5 May

After last week’s sighting from the lawn of the first swifts entering the boxes and then increasing numbers seen screaming overhead throughout a particularly warm week, today a cold, north easterly wind was blowing around the tower and not a swift was in the sky as we approached the Museum.

Screams from inside the nest boxes reassured us that this was because the swifts had far too much sense to be expending energy in a fruitless search for their insect prey in such cold, windy conditions and instead were hunkered down inside in the shelter of their boxes. This made our first count of the season much more fruitful and we were pleased to discover 9 boxes have already been settled and counted 16 birds sitting. This is very early for so many to be back but they followed last week’s warm southerly breezes and we may have to wait until the wind and weather changes for the next wave, meanwhile, we have placed a camera on a box we know to be occupied so that you can follow the progress one of our birds progress through the season live on our website.