Today is June 7 and that should be celebrated World Swift Day 2024one of three migratory birds most important, which arrive in our country every year as soon as the first heat begins. Swifts, swallows and martins play an important role in the ecosystems where they temporarily settle to reproduce and migrate again at the end of the summer with their new offspring. And they are called the three mosquito nets because of the number of insects they ingest every day.
Thanks to an initiative by an NGO called Swifts Without Borders, June 7 was declared World Swift Day. The purpose of this event, on this occasion, the World Swift Day 2024, is to inform and educate the population concerned (from Europe, Africa and Asia) about the habits, food and how important swifts are, to balance of the terrestrial ecosystem.
World Swift Day 2024: as unique as it is exciting
In the World Swift Day 2024Let’s not forget that this is a bird apodiform, with a very unique migratory behavior, as it can fly for long periods of time and eat and sleep during the journey. Variety Scam scam scam It lives in Europe, the Mediterranean strip of Africa and Western Asia and winters in southern Africa. The Apus apus pekinensis It lives in Central Asia and China and spends winters in East Africa.
Due to its physical build, it is a fast-feeding bird eats insects and small spiders which it hunts in flight, as they generally feed more than 50 meters above the ground or near freshwater bodies. They are capable of traveling several kilometers from their nest every day in search of food.
Although swifts traditionally nested in cliffs, caves, cliffs, tree holes or recycled nests (their own or those of other species), thanks to human urban development they have had to adapt and today they usually nest in buildings, roofs, chimneys, etc. And in the World Swift Day 2024 We must remember that our actions can harm them.
Migration
Those are the swifts migratory birds that travel enormous distances twice a year to move from their breeding grounds to their feeding grounds and back. They usually arrive in Europe from the last week of April and during the month of May and the end of July and August, once the reproductive phase is over, the autumn migration to subtropical African countries begins, following the most humid routes. insects spread.
Hazards
Although swifts are not endangered and the IUCN has classified them within the range of minimal risk (least concern), given their lifestyle, pesticides and insecticides reduce their food supply and many have died due to transmission of toxicity from ingesting poisoned prey.
Another of the grave threats hanging over them that we should keep in mind as we celebrate the World Swift Day 2024 is that they are city birds, so their favorite nesting places are the holes in buildings.
This implies that the proliferation of vertical and glass buildings without spaces and in-betweens and the renovations of old buildings leave them without nesting sites, causing the loss of entire generations of swifts.
These are the first signs that a species is on the path to vulnerability, which is the first step in alerting us to its possible disappearance. Let us not let that moment come, to throw our hands on our heads. Let’s do something now.
Es It is essential to respect their nests, because it was humans who invaded their natural habitat. And because they do their part by adapting and acting as an excellent natural pesticide, they at least deserve that we care for them and preserve their species. In the World Swift Day 2024 and the other days of the year.