The councillor for the Environment and Territory, Miquel Mir, took part this Thursday in the release of a quarantine of swifts that have been recovered at the centre of the Balearic Islands Wildlife Recovery Consortium (COFIB). Since the summer campaign began, a total of 1,017 birds have been cared for, of which 691 were chicks.

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It should be borne in mind that, between June and July, it is common for chicks to fall out of the nest in an attempt to escape the heat, as they do not yet know how to fly. Once they arrive at the centre, COFIB’s technical staff raise the birds until they reach the right size and weight to be able to fly and return to the wild. In total, 273 birds have been released during these months.

Mir thanked the technical staff for their work, as well as the collaboration of the public, the local police and veterinary clinics in the process of collecting the birds. The councillor stated that “thanks to the response of the public it has been possible to attend to so many specimens, a further demonstration that public involvement and environmental education are the basis for the conservation of our biodiversity”.

Last year, 702 swifts were cared for at the COFIB facilities, 569 of which were chicks.

Swifts (Apus apus) are migratory birds that arrive on the Balearic Islands at the end of March to breed. It is a species that carries out all its biological activity in flight and only stops to breed after the second year of life. In August they begin their journey to the African continent. It is listed under special protection in the Balearic catalogue of endangered species.