It was rescued! I got an email from one of the swift researcher that she had come and retrieved the box. It had been just in time, she said. And the problem had been that the box was sliding out of its Velcro. The Velcro itself was holding up well! But if it is not glued to whatever it is holding up properly, that's not much solace. So they were going to use some better glue in the future.
Something that was less positive that that same day, I had spotted a chick that had fallen out of the nest. Or being pushed out. No idea! But either way; it had given up the ghost. That was sad.
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| Rest in peace little swift |
A week or two later the researchers were back, again with their long bamboo poles. They said they this time had a smaller battery pack, and better glue. So they had again the difficult task of somehow sticking it to the Velcro on a different nest box. They managed! So the research will now continue.
They also told me that it is not unusual for swift chicks to end up out of the nest. If the parents are a bit optimistic and have three chicks, but there aren't enough bugs around to feed all of them, the runt of the litter just gets sacrificed. This summer hadn't felt particularly low on bugs to me, but it might have been different for the swifts.
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| Spot the tiny battery pack |
With the new battery pack in position, I am back on monitoring duties. I do think I can keep reporting back that everything is okay a bit longer this time. I'm sure they have good glue this time, and that pack looked very light. Let's hope they get some good research data in!
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