Summer Sunset : Last Swifts (1 Viewer)

A blackberry-ripening season's end sun slowly sinks towards tomorrow, shattering light amongst blinding cloud edges, banked against the swell of the hill. A hundred House Martins swim the shallows against the woods, all translucent and faded in the burn.

Cumuli float slowly: meringues in the blue, and the air itself dazzles. The deep chasm of shadows beneath the trees are ink dark, coal dark patches, where a thousand gossamer seeds sail across, a shoal of jellyfish heading off before night falls.

A Sparrowhawk spirals up, barely stirring the martin shoal, and heads away up valley. A Heron coughs a warning as it flaps to the stream. A Siskin's peel falls: a strip of citrus sound.

Now every House Martin suddenly rises in a rush, as one, a ball of birds concentrated above the ridge, and climbing fast and high. A hundred birds just dots - one ball of prey. And there their nemesis: a Hobby, high and fast, a deadly line, towards the sun, light glinting off the knives of its wings as it tilts in attack.

Four Swifts appear, coming away from danger, rapid and dark, slicing the sparkle. These few late August birds the last of the season.

The sun begins to set and a cool descends on the end of the day.

Hi H2

I heard my last swifts a week ago today and as it's turned very cool now, I doubt there'll be any more now.

A beautiful description of your afternoon excursion. I love the jellyfish analogy:-O

More stunning descriptions bringing the scene to life. Wonderful.

Thanks. The Hobby again around tonight: circling above, fly catching, then hurling itself down the valley at full pelt.

"The deep chasm of shadows beneath the trees are ink dark, coal dark patches, where a thousand gossamer seeds sail across, a shoal of jellyfish heading off before night falls."

Dylan Thomas would have been proud of that line

Sounds good Halftwo,

It felt like I was there as well.

best regards
Merlin

Thanks, Stuart & Merlin.

I acknowledge a Thomas influence in that line!

Very well written, we lost most of our Swifts (this was the first year we have seen em) after the big rainstorm that pelleted our area. We saw a few about a week after but have not heard their tweetering calls for a few days now. They shall be missed, they where so much fun to watch over the pond, and made the swallows who visit us in the summer look slow. Such wonderful and different birds.

Where you able to get any good photos? We managed one rotten one and one so so one over the pond.

No. I don't take photos, Crocus. Swifts would be difficult too!

halftwo said:

No. I don't take photos, Crocus. Swifts would be difficult too!

Click to expand...

Thanks halftwo, and yeah they sure are.

I shall see if I can which folder the better of the two we did get are. While my daughters camera is great, it is too slow in focus to keep up with them. I was actually going to see if I could find film for my old workhorse 35mm but never did find someplace by me with any. A nice high ISO and shutter speed on that would have worked, I think.

Where you folks get to see em, do they come down low? We where lucky with them feeding over the pond they often came down to eye level.

They sometimes come low and close, yes. It's great to see them like that. I really appreciate the short season - already finished here. For to wait till next April's end now.