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As I write this in mid August I am missing the parties of Swifts screaming overhead which we have enjoyed these last three months and which now appear to have taken their leave of us to return to their winter quarters in Africa. Although superficially similar to the Swallows and Martins (Hirundines), Swifts in fact belong to a different family, the Apodidae. These amazing birds are among the last of our summer visitors to arrive. I usually expect to see the first a day or two either side of my elder daughter’s birthday on 5th May and, more often than not, I get it right. This is usually about a month after the Swallow family arrive and, when they leave in August, Swifts leave the Swallow clan behind for up to another couple of months.
The Swift is the most completely aerial of all birds. From the moment when the young birds leave the nest under the eaves of our houses they will not land again for up to four years (yes, four YEARS!) which can be when they first start to breed. During this time they will migrate twice each year between Britain and Africa. They will sleep, feed and in due course mate on the wing. It was calculated by Max Nicholson that a daily average mileage for a Swift on the wing was 500 miles (800km) and a Swift which was known to have lived for twenty years would have flown a total of 1.28 million miles (2.06 million km). The only time that a Swift comes to earth is when it is nesting. Indeed they cannot land on
Robin Arundale