Swifts

My earliest record of returning birds is the 22nd of June, 1896, when I saw six on the marshes.

Swifts.

It has always been a puzzle to me what becomes of the annual increase of the swift.

From my earliest remembrance, some six pairs of these birds have yearly made their nesting quarters in the eaves of an old house on the quay, facing the south, about a hundred yards or so north of the Haven Bridge.

Regularly they put in an appearance about the middle of May, the dates varying slightly according to the winds, from the 12th to the 17th.

In course of time, about 30 individuals may be counted, and their elders' early summer sweeps and curvetings are noisily repeated by the younger members of the community.

Swifts are singularly rhythmical in their merry wheelings to and fro, the whole body curving off to the right or left, or in mounting with circular rushes in unison, as if impelled by a common impulse.

In fine weather, and again in stormy, they are often given to vociferous screaming, as if rioting were necessary to express the joy of living their shrill notes seem to imply.

And at the end, she just said that she felt like the world had handed her a gift and I, you know, birds really are a gift.

And so like those chimney Swifts, I, you know, I posted on our next door and my Facebook page and our, our, local town Facebook page, like come out and see me and see these wonderful Swifts.

So just sharing and remembering that we all came from a beginning place where we didn't know much.

So being gracious

and patient.

So you started your own Swift watch then have you had a lot of people come out and take you up on that?

I have, it's just been a few people, you know, a handful of people each night, but I've been going every night and happily, you know, sharing the wonder of it and what little I know about Swifts, whoever wants to learn.

Well, that's really cool.

But a closer look reveals key differences.

Swifts have longer, even slimmer wings, and relatively shorter bodies.

[birds chirping] Swifts also glide for longer periods.

Their glides are punctuated by rapid, stiff bursts of wing beats, movements so brisk their wings seem to flicker.

Swallows, on the other hand, flex and flap their wings.