A Familiar Shape in the Sky

I saw my first returning Swift on the 22nd April and since then I've been seeing one's and two's silently cross the garden skyline, speedily heading northwards but this morning and eleven days on from my initial sighting...my Swifts were back!

What do I mean by my Swifts? These are the Swifts that stay local for the summer and nest in the eaves or between the tiles of the houses in my road. This morning there were six dark, scythe-shaped birds circling low and around the house, occasionally letting out a welcoming scream, that unique sound once again joining the spring chorus - these birds were not furthering their journey, but had arrived home having travelled hundreds of miles from central Africa.

For as long as I can remember my Swifts always return in the first week of May and in the coming days these initial birds will hopefully be joined by several more as their mid-air courtship display builds up as they chase one another across the sky, screams getting louder, that familiar sound of summer filling the air all the way through to August until their sudden departure leaves the air silent once again.

The Swift is one of only a handful of birds that stirs up an inner emotion and a special connection, there failure to arrive would leave an unimaginable void difficult to fill.

A familiar shape in the sky...