My swift is back on 7 May 2009

Today they are back in their hundreds. Everywhere you go there are swifts in the sky.
The weather is much better and at 8pm tonight it was 19°C in my garden.
Earlier today I was at my front door and I saw the first swift of this season flying low through the street. It is not unusual to see them fly through the street at breakneck speed, but so far this season they were mostly high above the houses. Seeing the swift this low, means that there are more swifts now. Maybe the screaming parties are back.
It’s not easy to be such a novice in the world of swifts.
Tonight I started cycling early-ish. On my way to Pope’s college I cycled past a old church. At first three of them formed a screaming party round the the church and when they came back they were already with five of them, with two trailing behind. I stopped to watch them. When I look up in the sky I see swifts everywhere. All the way here I already saw many swifts play.
At Pope’s College I saw them fly up to nests, fly past nests, forming screaming parties. In one screaming party I counted 12!
With the changing weather there must have been a second wave of swifts arrived today. From the Pope’s College I went to another site where we saw many last year and on my way there I cycled past Ladeuze square. It a big open space above underground garages, where it is market every Friday. Now there was a group of people learning some kind of dance. On this square there is a huge needle with a beetle pinned on it. It’s a work of art, it does depend on what you consider artistic.
The dancers were intent on their dancing and above them, four swifts were circling around the needle with the beetle, screaming loudly when they make their aeronautic turns.
When I got to the city archives and I saw how many swifts were all along my way and also there, I realised there is only one nestbox I must look out for tonight ….. and that’s my own.
Lately I almost got depressed when I saw on the yahoo lists how all the swifts came back to their nests. If I have a couple this year again, I stand a good chance of having a breeding pair, but they have to come back.
At 8:30pm I was watering my rose at my front door when one swift past my head very low. I just knew it, it’s one of my swifts. But I was not sure. You can never be sure with them, you have to see them go in or leave the nest and even that they do with such silence.
I took up my position across the street. Tonight I will wait till it’s dark, I must be sure.
At 9:05 pm I saw my swift return to it’s nest! I can tell you, at that moment you feel you can do cartwheels or a little happy dance. Now the swift season has started for me too. Last year I saw a swift go into that nestbox only the 20th of May.
What a joy,
What a pleasure,
What fun,
watching birds in the sky.