Swifts

We watched as they circled the green this evening although the 'Birds of Britain' site says they are a common sight in July.


"In July evening flights of swifts wheeling high over our garden are a regular feature. Wonderfully wild screaming reveals their whereabouts although the visitors are often scarcely visible to the eye. On other occasions up to a dozen will hurtle just above the rooftops. Yet it is remarkable how infrequently one hears of aerial collisions.
During cold and windy weather parent swifts can spend long periods sitting on nests close together, or on top of each other with bodies hunched and feathers ruffled. In abnormally cold weather swifts may throw out complete clutches of eggs before themselves congregating in clusters on walls. Swifts will take shelter in their nests in heavy rain, even staying in for much of the day."


The cuckoo has also been busy in the mornings, calling for 20 minutes at a time.