A September Swift
In my part of the Yorkshire Pennines Swifts are one of the shortest-staying summer visitors. They arrive in May after most other migrants have already arrived, and they are usually gone by the middle of August, again before most migrants have departed. This year my last Pennine sighting was 20 August and I thought that would be my last for the year, but on 9 September there were at least half a dozen Swifts flying around the Spurn peninsula. Late Swifts are always worth checking as this is the time when rare Pallid Swifts occasionally wander here from southern Europe. These are difficult to identify, especially if the light is poor so I really only photographed this bird to check it wasn't a Pallid Swift. Alas, not a Pallid, but I was pleasantly surprised by the photo so thought I'd upload it.
Another interesting thing about Swifts is that once they leave their nest, their feet won't touch the ground for two or three years until they nest themselves. By this time the young Swift will have made two or three return journeys to sub-Saharan Africa. They eat, drink, sleep and even mate on the wing, only landing when they nest. The oldest known Swift was ringed as a nestling in Switzerland and was caught back there 21 years later, by which time it was estimated to have flown perhaps 3 million miles.
The scientific name Apus apus comes from the Greek " a pous" meaning without foot. Swift legs are so small that it was once believed that they did not have any feet.
A September Swift
In my part of the Yorkshire Pennines Swifts are one of the shortest-staying summer visitors. They arrive in May after most other migrants have already arrived, and they are usually gone by the middle of August, again before most migrants have departed. This year my last Pennine sighting was 20 August and I thought that would be my last for the year, but on 9 September there were at least half a dozen Swifts flying around the Spurn peninsula. Late Swifts are always worth checking as this is the time when rare Pallid Swifts occasionally wander here from southern Europe. These are difficult to identify, especially if the light is poor so I really only photographed this bird to check it wasn't a Pallid Swift. Alas, not a Pallid, but I was pleasantly surprised by the photo so thought I'd upload it.
Another interesting thing about Swifts is that once they leave their nest, their feet won't touch the ground for two or three years until they nest themselves. By this time the young Swift will have made two or three return journeys to sub-Saharan Africa. They eat, drink, sleep and even mate on the wing, only landing when they nest. The oldest known Swift was ringed as a nestling in Switzerland and was caught back there 21 years later, by which time it was estimated to have flown perhaps 3 million miles.
The scientific name Apus apus comes from the Greek " a pous" meaning without foot. Swift legs are so small that it was once believed that they did not have any feet.