From these two benches you can ideally see the swift, Antwerp’s most acrobatic bird. From the end of April to the end of July, swifts come from Africa to breed here in Het Steen. Between 9pm and 10pm, they fly to their nests to spend the night.
Originally swifts were rock dwellers but now they nest mostly in the crevices and holes of houses and tall buildings in the city.
They have two curved legs with four forward-pointing toes, fitted with sharp nails. Ideal for hanging against a facade, they cannot sit on a branch or walk.
They fly day and night, all year round. They eat, drink, mate and sleep in the air. Only in the breeding season do they land in their nest. They hibernate about 8000 kilometres from here, in southern Africa.
You can recognise them by their torpedo-shaped body with sickle-shaped wings and forked tail.
They have a dark plumage with a light throat patch. Males and females are externally indistinguishable. In flight, they look like anchorwings.
Current mandatory insulation standards mean that cavities and crevices in buildings are sealed, resulting in the loss of countless nests every year.
This is why the city of Antwerp, in collaboration with Bird Protection Flanders and Apus team, create nests throughout the city.
What can you do? Click here for more information.
In 2018, Het Steen was renovated. As a result, 8 nesting sites disappeared. The City of Antwerp compensated for the loss by transforming 15 scaffold holes into an ideal nesting site for the swift. And with success!