Evening under the Screeching Swifts

After cycling back from work, a very long and dragging day at work, I saw that the lowering sun had found a few gaps in the cloud to shine through, and that there were gaps in the cloud. That was good enough for me.

A bite of food, and I was out there!

I walked around the park, past the river, past lots of families, lovers, shy teens holding hands, football kickers and the inevitable dog walkers. Overhead, motorised parachutes droned about like flying vuvuzelas. With it being evening, the woodland was dominated by the song of the blackbird. The River Devon was acting as a waterpark for millions of insects, and excited small fish ripped through the surface in their pursuit of them.

As I headed back into town, along old Millgate, I was really happy to see so many swifts in the sky, and indeed to identify a nest site I wasn't aware of before. They were hunting at medium level, but every so often one would streak down to head height before making a near vertical ascent up to the nest under the eaves of a Georgian house.

I have an idea that this is the best spring for swifts here in some years. Now that I've identified where their nests are, I'm hopeful I can get a sequence of shots of them arriving and entering. I would love to get one clear shot of a swift, for they are masters of the sky.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 22.05.16

Conker candle

Bronze River Devon

Garlic mustard meadow

The individual flowerhead

Buttercups

A cow parsley meadow

Insect life

Sunset over the marina

Golden castle

Deep into sunset