8pm, and it’s a wet windy May day, 14 degrees celsius. I got a soaking earlier. I just looked out of the window from my desk, and I saw the first big group of about eight swifts fly over, quite high up, and it was great to see them. I saw the first swift on Saturday, but only one oddly. If you don’t know, the flying sickles arrive in Europe from Africa in May every year and go mad in the sky mating till the end of August, then they head back. They are cool fliers and even sleep while flying.
Here are some links:
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds – Swifts
Turning Earth on a brief encounter – these birds are fast fast fast.
BBC Springwatch- I just recorded my sighting on the site.
Cy Forrest 