Looking for swifts - NOT amateur radio

Swallows are more common as we enter the back end of April. Four flew past the window earlier.

The next are swifts. Several have been seen in Devon and even a few up here in East Anglia, but they are not common yet. As yet, I have not seen one this year.  By June they are very common, but they do not stop long.

Cuckoos should be about soon, but I have not heard any. They often lay their eggs in reed warbler nests up the lode (waterway) not far from here, but we rarely hear cuckoos these days.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/s/swift/ .

Swifts gone - NOT amateur radio

It is now several weeks since I last saw (and heard) swifts overhead. I guess they have started their journeys south to warmer climes. For a few months they are an English summer. Then one day you realise they have gone. I miss them and look forward to their return next May.

I think I mentioned before that I had the rare privilege of holding a swift many years ago when one landed accidentally in the road. We kept it in a box overnight and fed it insects. The next day it just flew away. They really are lovely birds.

Farewell and safe journeying over land and sea. See you next year.

Swifts going? - NOT amateur radio

In May they arrive and for a few months the swifts are screaming in the skies above us. Then, you realise they are there no longer. I think they start to move this month.

I am sure there are swifts still around but there are fewer than a few weeks ago. Just weeks ago there were more than 20 overhead. Let us hope I see their return in the spring. To me, the screaming swifts are the making of an English spring and summer.

This year there were fewer swallows and house martins, but I saw plenty of swifts.

See http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/s/swift/  .

What a difference a day makes - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday I saw my first swift (bird) of the season. Today they seem to be everywhere!

This afternoon there were several feeding on insects high in the sky and there was a house martin high over our windmill. This morning we saw swifts in Newmarket and a number over our village  with a sparrowhawk.

In just one day swifts have gone from being rare to very common.

First swifts spotted - NOT amateur radio

To me, swifts herald summer. Today, just before lunch, I spotted my first 2 swifts of the season high overhead. This is about the time I first see them here. There have been reports of swifts in Devon for a couple of weeks.

Hearing these summer visitors screaming in the evening sky brings real joy to my heart. Summer is nearly here!

Swifts have much narrower scythe like wings than swallows and house martins. They are late to arrive and leave early. They spend most of their lives on the wing. Years ago one crashed in the road and I was lucky enough to care for it overnight and handle it. The next day it just flew off!

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/s/swift/

Hirundines - NOT amateur radio

Around this time most of our summer migrant birds are heading south for warmer weather and more insects. Most swifts will have gone now to return here at the end of April or the start of May next year.

Today I saw a swallow and that may be the last this year. Some young birds may be around for a few weeks and it is just possible some may remain in South Devon and South Cornwall all year. Just a few may survive on the coast where there may be insects near seaweed all year. I once saw some swallows in South Devon on Dec 7th but that is very late. No, most are now gone to return next spring, at least gone from East Anglia. Some travel thousands of miles all the way to South Africa - a truly remarkable journey -  often returning to the very same next site they left. Quite remarkable.

The migration of birds is almost miraculous. I am sorry to see them leave but my heart is always glad when they return.

Of course, to some birds we are seen as warm! The Whooper and Bewick swans join us as do the fieldfares and redwings.

There is something good in every season.

Swifts - NOT amateur radio

This evening, in a further attempt to beat my giddiness, I went for a decent (for me!) walk. One of the joys of an English summer evening is seeing swifts on the wing high in the sky and hearing their calls - a high pitched scream. To me, this is the sound of summer. Their wings are scythe like and they spend most of their lives on the wing.

They arrive late (around the end of April) and go before summer is done. It an ephemeral sound that they make. When you hear it, it is truly late spring or summer. Soon the summer migrants will head south to warmer skies and we will be joined by migrants from the north such as whooper and bewick swans from the high Arctic and Russia as well thrushes like redwings and fieldfares from Scandinavia. To them we represent warmth and mildness!

For now I am content to hear those swifts, although they will soon be on their way. Hopefully, I'll still be around for their return in the spring. Seeing the first swifts in late April brings joy to my heart. The cycle of life that has happened for thousands of years goes on. No doubt this cycle went on when we still lived in caves and when Roman soldiers walked these lands and this cycle will still be going on long after I am dust again.

See http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/s/swift/ .

Swifts - NOT amateur radio

This image is located on the RSPB site and NOT  on this blog. It will be removed if any issues are caused by its inclusion here.

One of the joys of an English summer is the sound of screaming swifts in the air. This is most common in May and June. The swifts are one of the first summer migrants to leave. It always seems a long time until they return again next spring. Usually the first ones arrive here by the end of April. Once, long ago, I found one on the ground. We kept it in a box overnight. The next morning it flew off as if nothing had happened. Swifts spend most of their time on the wing and if they do land on the ground it is not easy to take off again. I found this out much later. It was lovely to handle this scythe like bird.

See http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/s/swift/ .

Cuckoo - NOT amateur radio

We visited West Stow today with 2 of our young grandchildren. This is a reconstructed Anglo-Saxon village. We heard a goldcrest and the first cuckoo whilst there, but saw neither. A cuckoo is a sign if the return of spring. I have yet to see house martins or swifts and have only seen 2 swallows so far this spring.