Spring may be arriving in England three weeks earlier than it used to (according to this) – or even a month earlier (according to this) – but clearly no one has told the swifts. These magical birds have been arriving in my neighbourhood on or around the same date for as long as I can remember, sometimes putting in an early appearance in the last days of April, but usually making it in the first few days of May (always, in recent years, by the 7th). This year I was quietly confident that, encouraged by the recent warm weather, they would be, if anything, a little early. But no: here we are on the afternoon – a glorious sunny afternoon – of the 8th, and still not a swift in sight. I do hope nothing has gone wrong on their inward journey... I also hope that, by the very act of writing this, I have ensured that the next time I set foot outside the house I shall see a swift circling above me and instantly experience again that unique lift of the heart and soul – a thrill that is like no other 'first', however late it comes.
Consolation have I none Nige. Clear blue skies down here in La La Land but no sign of the tiny beauties, just the odd swallow.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. My correspondent in Gaucin (Mr Appleyard) tells me he's surrounded by swifts.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. We are a few metres above sea level, soon to be below sea level if the doom mongers are correct. Bryan in Gaucin is 600+ metres above us and slightly inland, well away from the coastal tat. Perhaps these little wonders are more fussy than I imagined about the company they keep?
ReplyDeleteWho knows? Mysterious birds. Meanwhile my little bit of magical thinking worked, if rather slowly – this morning two swifts were circling just down the road from my house. The world's still turning...
ReplyDelete