ID CHALLENGE 12 October 2020 L Plate by Karen Weil
Who is this aerial acrobat? Seen and photographed by Karen Weil on the Strzelecki Track in Outback SA.
Size: fairly large for this sort of bird. Behaviour: flying high, fast and never stopping to rest, often with many others.
Solution:
This is a Fork-tailed (Pacific) Swift Apus pacificus
As per the blue bible, The Australian Bird Guide, “slim, elegant, medium-large swift with long forked tail and white rump.”
I think the real challenge with any swift/martin/swallow is to manage to get a good enough look at one on the wing to be able to confidently identify. Swift by name, swift by nature.
The Fork-tailed Swift is the most common of the swifts in Australia and can be found across the continent. As some have mentioned, they have seen them above suburbia. However, my first really bad sighting was at Anglesea Heath, VIC. There was only one that we saw at the time. But as they fly at any altitude, depending on where the food is, there could have been more or it was just passing through to better feeding grounds.
These photos were taken in March 2018 when travelling the Strzelecki Track in SA. I cannot remember exactly where on the track we were, but we saw the flock, stopped and tried our best to ID first, then take photos. Trying to take photos of little zippy things is near impossible. These were the best shots I have ever taken of this species. The photos have been massively cut and lightroom’ed the heck out of them to get some semblance of detail of the bird.
Some more blue bible detail: Migrant from ne Asia arriving in Australia about Oct-Nov and departing approximately April.
Watch the skies before a weather front moves through in spring/summer/autumn as the birds move before it feeding on the insects.
So, Ladies, eyes to the skies!!
Note, this bird is called Pacific Swift on eBird. https://ebird.org/species/fotswi
Women Birders Australia 