The swifts have come back! I hereby declare summer has started.

This first sighting is exactly on the date I’ve noticed as an average for the last 10 years or so.

#birds #swifts

I SAW A SWIFT!!!!!! THEY'RE EARLY!!!! I SAW A SWIFT!!!

552°26'19.8"N 4°49'30.0"E

#Swifts

The swifts are returning, as always impossible to capture in photo as if they're more a sensation than tangible birds. They remind me of From Seed to Dust by Marc Hamer and I'm convinced I first read about the microseason Tsubame kitaru (swallows return) there, but then I grab the book to re-read that chapter, and it mentions nothing of the sort, so I don't know. Memory is odd.

(The swallows have also, coincidentally, returned)

𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘪 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪 𝘥𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘶' 𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘭𝘪 𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪. 𝘔𝘪 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘪 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘦' 𝘪𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘛𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘶 (𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘰), 𝘮𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘪 𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘰 𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘥𝘪 𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘪𝘰'. 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰. 𝘓𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘦' 𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢.

(𝘌 𝘣𝘦𝘩, 𝘴𝘪', 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦)

#silentsunday #swifts #clouds #tsubamekitaru #spring #springtime #saveOurSwifts #rondoni #nuvole #primavera

RE: https://kolektiva.social/@DoomsdaysCW/115560231574137263

This is what we should be doing for #Swifts! Not blocking up their ancestral nests!

#Birds #Derbyshire #NetworkRail

FFS! 😡 Anger as #swifts’ nesting holes in #Derbyshire rail #viaduct ‘blocked up’

Campaigners say birds could die trying to access ancestral nests that were sealed during rail refurbishment

Patrick Barkham
Fri 10 Apr 2026

"Network Rail began work on the refurbishment of the 160-year-old viaducts last summer while swifts were nesting. An ecological report, commissioned by Network Rail and not required by law, found no evidence of nesting swifts.

"This claim was challenged by swift watchers, who assembled 38 pieces of evidence they said showed at least nine nest sites on the viaducts. Network Rail later accepted there were swift holes and said it had worked around the nesting birds.

"British Transport Police’s wildlife crime team was investigating whether nesting birds may have been disturbed, after the refurbishment work was reported to the police by campaigners last summer."

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/10/anger-as-swifts-nesting-holes-in-derbyshire-rail-viaduct-blocked-up

#UKPol #AnimalCruelty #WildlifeCrimes #CitizenScience #BirdWatching #Wildlife #HumanIgnorance

"Our skies get quieter every summer: from 1995 to 2023, the UK swift population declined by 68%. “It is a pretty consistent decline,” says the RSPB’s migratory birds programme manager, Dr Guy Anderson, “and it’s pretty consistent wherever you look in the UK.”

#Swifts #Birds #Wildlife #Environment

The reasons are murky, but‘Swifts spark joy!’ Why these beautiful birds need our help – and 10 ways to give it | Environment | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/02/swifts-spark-joy-why-these-beautiful-birds-need-our-help-and-10-ways-to-give-it?&CMP=upside_email

first Venus, then Saturn

Mnemonic
Sarah Edwards

#Poetry #SarahEdwards #Mnemonic #Wildness #Venus #Saturn #Swifts #September #Hawk #PalmReading #EBike #GigEconomy #Telescope

https://readwildness.com/41/edwards-mnemonic

Swift First Aid & Care
https://www.swift-conservation.org/SwiftFirstAid.htm

#SolarPunkSunday #Swifts #BioDiversity #WildLife #Birds #Conservation