The 2011 season is open!

The anticipation is over, they are back!
Lately the mailing lists were buzzing with the first sightings of the Common Swifts returning. I admit to being a bit jealous when all around me sightings of swifts appear, you almost feel blind.
Monday at dusk I went to the Abbey. There are wide open fields and the noise of the city is much less, so it's a great area to spot birds. Nada!
Yesterday I stayed at home and for sure LP saw his first swift/s, so I had to go out tonight.
The best place is still the Pope's College, where the biggest colony for Leuven is situated, so there I went tonight. Pope's College
The best time to go look for them is just before dusk. A swift needs to see where its nesthole is located. It is not always the best visible spot on a wall.
I arrived at Apus College at 20:00 and decided to stay till 20:45. My expectation was that I won't see anything, then 45 min is a long time, but that's what I usually spent in watching a suspected nestsite.
At 20:20 I had a flash sighting. It was such a quick sighting, I could just make out that it was a swift before it disappeared behind a tree and even though I moved round I could not see it. 5 Mins later I saw another or the same swift. Now it was gliding through the air, a great sighting! I have seen my first swift of the 2011 season.
The Pope's College which is not a college but a dorm for male students, has a big courtyard where the most swiftnests are. Usually I stand on the side of Deberiot street. There are also a number of nests. Standing here I saw my first swift tonight and shortly after it has left I saw 4 more swifts.
To keep watching them I switched to the courtyard where I eventually lost track of them. With the idea that the evening went quite well, I walked back to Deberiot street side where my bicycle was. Just before I reached my bicycle I noticed two more!
It was getting better and better.
Being on the outside of the college I watched them circle above it. They came lower and lower and then went down like an arrow, first the one and soon afterwards, the other. I can swear they went down to their nests.
Tomorrow I'll take up position in the courtyard!