Update May 20th 2:49 p.m.: We were recently informed that fortunately no nestlings were closed in! But it is true that the nest entrances were blocked deliberately. The officials and the Spanish animal protectors are working for a change and want to put nest boxes on the building and may be the planks will be removed soon!
Video: Palid Swifts trying desperately to get to their nesting places.
Shocking news has come to us from the Spanish port of Algeciras. Two days ago the authorities responsible for the port began the sealing up of the entrances to the nests of a colony pallid swifts. Dozens of chicks were closed in and sentenced to death, as planks were nailed over their nests. Desperate parent birds risked death to get in to feed their young (see photo); swift nestlings were screaming desperately for food – and the responsible authorities looked the other way.
Pallid swifts, who look very similar to common swifts and can be called their “South European relativesâ€, are protected by European Directive 79/409/CEE, which strictly prohibits building work during the breeding season. The authorities of Algericas are therefore acting illegally and brutally in allowing the mass killing of these swifts. If this is happeining due to lack of knowledge or general ignorance is not known, but it does not change the result.
