A swift “falls” in Gallarate: rescued by the local Lipu

“Precipitated” during the long journey back from North Africa, a migrating swift was saved by the Lipu of Gallarate. It happened on Sunday 11 March; the local section of the Lipu was the protagonist who intervened to rescue the bird in difficulty.

Swifts are animals that fly very high, on their long journey of migration from Europe to south-eastern Africa and then – just about springtime – in the opposite direction. And it is likely that on the return route to Northern Europe the bird “has found itself having to descend to feed,” explain the volunteers from Lipu. “The rainy season may have made it lose too much energy to put it in a position to resume its migration flight”.

Rescued and refreshed, the swift  left for its trip in the afternoon: “After having done a couple of laps at high altitude it resumed its route and who knows where it will arrive with its 200 and more kilometers per hour speed, perhaps in Switzerland or in Germany.”

“In the coming weeks we are waiting for the peak of arrivals for these birds that since 15 March have reached a fairly large number in the province; they are a protected species in Italy and offer an important service to humans, even in the vicinity of cities, because to feed themselves they catch in flight hundreds of insects”. In fact, swifts very often live in urban environments, in particular by exploiting the cavities of historic buildings, such as bell towers or palaces.

Lipu reminds everyone of the importance of helping injured or debilitated birds (through facebook Lipu Varese or via email gallarate@lipu.it – ​​varese@lipu.it).

The arrival of swallows, swifts and similar birds, marks the beginning of spring. In this regard, on 21 March, the first day of spring, at the headquarters of the Order of Architects in Varese, Lipu organizes a conference titled “Architettura, avifauna & co” to raise awareness on architectural interventions so that they are not harmful to these species so important from a conservationist point of view. Here more information.