Swift misadventures: what to do if you find a young swift
First here’s some don’ts:
- Don’t throw it in the air
- Don’t feed it
- Don’t delay
Please read the advice given by Swift Conservation at https://www.swift-conservation.org/SwiftFirstAid . To save a baby swift refer to photographs on the site to check its age and size.
- Put it in a warm, safe, calm and clean place: a ventilated shoe box is good
- If you can, take a photo and weigh the bird to assess its age
- You can try giving it water by running a wet cotton bud around the edge of its beak but avoid the nostrils
- Measure its wing length – a swift can only fly if its wings are each at least 16cm long
- Please don’t try to care for it yourself but contact Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue
OXFORDSHIRE WILDLIFE RESCUE
Telephone 07549-322464
Woodway Road, Blewbury, Didcot, OX11 9HW
They already have a few swifts they are caring for including one found on the pavement in Henley. Hopefully the birds will recover from their trauma and then be released back into the wild in time for their long flight home.
