Rubén Barone
 ·  6 November 2023  13:47

Hi.

Is there any breeding record of Pallid Swift for The Netherlands, or the species is simply a migrant in the country? At least in some Mediterranean countries, like Italy, this swift is expanding its breeding area. 

Best regards from the Canaries. 

Peter de Knijff
 ·  6 November 2023  15:40

Hi Ruben,

As far as we know, it does not breed here. By far most records are in October, as can be seen e.g. here (all records from birdmigration sites). Although this graph only shows 69 individuals, it perfectly illustrates its peaked-occurance.

Rubén Barone
 ·  6 November 2023  16:20

Hi.

Many thanks for the response, Peter.

It's very curious to me that the peak of records in The Netherlands is between October and November. Here, in the Canaries, the species is a regular breeder and it is seen mostly between February-March and September, but normally not (or very rarely) in October and November.

Best regards. 

Vincent van der Spek
 ·  6 November 2023  17:43, gewijzigd 7 November 2023  20:06

Hi Rubén, 

The first for the country was as recent as 2006, and the second in 2013. Since then it has become a scarce late autumn migrant rather than a vagrant. Of course we now have better equipment and more knowledge, so an "observation bias" might play a role, but in the past only a few late swifts (at the time all identified as very late Common) where seen every year. The increase of late autumn records appears to be real.

Rubén Barone
 ·  7 November 2023  11:45

Hi again.

Thanks for the new information, very interesting...

Here, many of the breeding colonies are small and situated along coastal cliffs and buildings not very far from the sea level. On the other hand, the species is usually seen during the spring and late summer migrations. The Plain Swift Apus unicolor is much more common in the islands than the Pallid Swit. 

Best regards from the Canaries.