It happens to me every summer – about the end of May I’ll start turning my eyes and ears towards the sky, hoping for a view of my favourite bird – Apus apus – or as it’s better known, the Common Swift.
…and then one evening, I’ll be sitting outside having a drink, and then suddenly high in the sky above I’ll hear the screaming, and then like a flash, a pack of marauding sickle shaped birds will zoom overhead.
Woohoo! They’re here!!!
And then the next thing you know- they’re everywhere. flying low through our villages, scaring the pedestrians and beating up our streets!
The Common Swift is a remarkable little bird, and they have always been my favourite.
They are truly the most airborne of all birds, they eat, sleep and… um… ‘ahem’ in the air. In fact, the only reason they do come to earth is to nest, lay eggs and raise their young. Even then, because they have small feet with all the four claws pointing forward, they are awkward on the ground and out of place. They can only cling on to vertical surfaces like cliff faces, tree trucks and the sides of buildings – you’ll never see them perched on a twig or on a telephone wire.
Swifts generally have a single brood of 1 to 3 chicks each year, which they feed solely on airborne insects. Only feeding on the airborne plankton in the sky (insects, spiders etc.) and so having to go where the food is, the adult birds can and will fly hundreds of miles to catch a meal for their young off spring. Amazingly they have been recorded flying from the northern England and Scotland all the way to France on extended foraging trips. During this time, the young chicks will enter a state of torpor – only coming out of it when the parents return with their supper.
When Juveniles finally leave the nest, they will not touch the earth again until they have matured and successfully bread, which can take up anything up to 3 years…
Imagine that – 3 years on the wing! That is truly awesome. It is said that a single bird can cover millions of miles in its lifetime.
It’s not fully understood how they sleep. They do it at high altitude apparently, which is why you’ll see them ascending dramatically into the sunset at dusk, and it is thought that they’re able to shut down one side of their brain at a time, whilst gliding back towards down to earth, but I don’t think anyone is fully certain yet. However they do it – it’s a stunning bit of evolution.
After they’ve raised their young, these little wonders leave our shores (and the rest of the Europe, Russia and Asia) early in August and fly south to Africa where they spend the winter. Actually they seem to spend so little time here, that it’s hard to call them a British bird at all. But then I don’t think of them as African birds either – I don’t really think they’re locked to the land at all – they’re truly from the sky.
Until next year my little friends, farewell – I’ll miss you!
What great shots! Love the one with the two of them in the little knothole. How cute 🙂
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😀 (very much not my work – all shots were taken from public domain)
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Well they’re still great! 🙂 Glad you got to see your birdy friends!
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😀
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A very interesting species. They used to nest under the roof at my maternal grandparents and I can still hear their screaming calls.
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They’re pretty unique! That would have been great to see them nesting!
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You look for swifts, and I look for swallows. Both birds are indeed fascinating. Thanks for enlightening me more about these wonderful creatures Stuart.
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Thanks Malcolm! I love swallows too, and Martins – all of the aerial birds (as I call them) are very interesting and lovely to watch. I love hearing chattering Swallows perched on a telephone wire.
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I agree with you, I enjoy seeing their outline in the sky.
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😀 They’re pretty distinctive!
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Exactly, a bird I can actually identify lol.
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lol! 😀 Actually Bill Oddie used to say that most people can identify more than they think.
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I love these little birds… we have a good few round here, though not nesting close.
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That’s cool! We have a small flock over our village. It’s been interesting actually – when we first moved here 12 years ago there were none – but over the years their numbers have grown. these days, when I’m out in the back garden in the evening you can see a fair sized flock ascending into the sky. I’m not sure where they nest though.
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They are incredible aeronauts, aren’t they? I love watching them fly.
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Oh agreed – amazing! 😀
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😀
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I learned a lot in here! Had no idea birds were capable of sleeping mid-air. I can’t even catch a wink of shuteye while riding on an airplane!
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Thanks! They’re rather amazing!
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They are cute, I’ll give you that. But so are all birds, and animals. Fascinating creatures who’d win an award for the weirdest lives. Great post. 🙂
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Thanks my love! ❤ And I agree – all animals are cute… except spiders… and snakes…
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I’m ok with snakes, but spiders – terrifying! 😉
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Hissssssss!!!!! 😀
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