Alpine Swift

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Alpine Swift at stays in or beside Cederberg Wilderness Area, Goukamma Nature Reserve, Anysberg Nature Reserve, Gamkaberg Nature Reserve, Rocherpan Nature Reserve and Kruger National Park and other reserves. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

The Alpine Swift is most recorded in Western Cape (69% of records), Northern Cape (11% of records), Limpopo (6% of records), based on 370 iNaturalist observations. 79 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Alpine Swift on site or nearby.

The Alpine Swift is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. Cederberg Wilderness Area: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct; Goukamma Nature Reserve: year-round, warm Oct-Apr; Anysberg Nature Reserve: Autumn and spring, Mar-May, Sep-Nov; Gamkaberg Nature Reserve: Autumn and spring, Mar-May, Sep-Nov. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

The Alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba) formerly Apus melba, is a species of swift. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek takhus, "fast", and marptis, "seizer". The specific melba has no known explanation.