I hadn’t seen swifts around the house before, but now there are several and a joy to watch in an evening.

Overview – The swift is a medium-sized aerial bird, which is a superb flier. It evens sleeps on the wing! It is plain sooty brown, but in flight against the sky it appears black. It has long, scythe-like wings and a short, forked tail. It is a summer visitor, breeding across the UK, but most numerously in the south and east. It winters in Africa.
Where to see them – Look up in the sky in summer, often very high. They never perch on wires like swallows. You might see excited screaming parties of them careering madly at high speed around rooftops and houses, often low, especially towards dusk.
When to see them – April – August.
What they eat – Flying insects and airborne spiders.

Stumble it!

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