Coolattin House is visited every year by swifts, and you may be able to see their nests on the sides of the building. These birds spend the winter in Africa and migrate north, returning to the same nesting sites every year. They form pairs and mate for life.
After laying their eggs, adult swifts go off in search of food. Amazingly, if the parent is delayed coming back due to bad weather for example, the egg can actually slow down its growth. Young swifts get ready for flying by doing a kind of push-up on their wing tips.
Swifts spend most of their lives in the air, flying non-stop for months at a time. They can not perch on branches or wires, but can use their feet to hold onto vertical surfaces like walls and cliffs.
Coolattin Estate is also home to some interesting trees. Redwoods are native to the west coast of North America and can grow to enormous sizes. They were introduced to the estate as part of the development of the house grounds. One giant sequoia was recorded as having been planted in 1855, only two years after the seed of the tree was first brought to Europe from California.
Citizen Science
You can record sightings of swifts and other birds using the BirdTrack app.