Swift flight

How about the Albatross then? Roaming the southern oceans for thousands of miles. Well, take away wind and wave action and you’d be left with a sitting duck right?! Albatrosses have adapted perfectly to a life at sea. Whose home in the sky more? The Peregrine with his speed record? Well, take away gravity and his hunting stoop and you’d be left with a good flyer who’s not having the edge over it anymore?! Whose home in the sky more? The Arctic Tern with its revered 50 thousand miles annual migration route? Well, graceful as the Tern may be in flight, I will be talking here about someone who may easily clock up to 3 million miles during a lifetime fuelled only through an insectivore diet. An awe-inspiring masterpiece of the skies flies about.

Who’s home in the sky more? Let us go sky-high now. The aerial master at the top for all disciplines; top-speeds, mind-blowing maneuverability, effortless soar, swoop and glide, teamwork, elusory flutter, echolocation abilities, edible nest making, dizzying heights and deliberate close calls when they come low… Swifts, Swiftlets and not least Needletails and Spinetails. Brilliantly adapted to life on the wing they are the true masters of the sky. "With swifts, anything is possible." No wonder they eat, sleep, drink, bathe, collect nest material and even mate in flight. For them it’s ordinary and everyday business although I’m not so sure the latter would be for every day 😜

Science has never properly figured out our Swifts and Needletails and don’t we truly love this! With Swifts we have the opportunity to fully admire them. "Magic and wonder is still in the air." Religious as it often appears when nothing is to be left unanswered; science has not yet boxed these avian marvels. The anecdote goes that the Common Swift back in England –the cradle of bird scientists- was named Apus apus and for those with little knowledge of Latin and/or Greek I’m happy to translate that into "footless". In my opinion nothing much has changed since. You won’t hear me say much ‘has’ to be learned about those birds still. No need. Perhaps it’s just the time to accept that Swifts are incredibly smart and we may not. It could well be that Swifts have neared evolutionary completion. Can they get better still? Even the most advanced human made flying object today would be poor technology, as compared with Swift abilities that is!

I am still under the swift's spell after 31 years of birding. Mystery of life on the wing continues. In the meantime science has figured out that Swifts aren’t lumped with Swallows and Martins. They now say their closest relative is the Hummingbird. Oh well, it’d be just another choice and attempt to classify. Mind you, they’ll change it again in due time. Please, don’t do all of this with Swifts or Needletails. In my humble opinion they deserve more respect and therefore you may note my willingness to accept that Swifts are just Swifts. Take your time, find a lawn, lie down on your back, watch the ☁ clouds drift, wonder about…oh look "a" Swift… I recommend you try this too and you may discover someday it may make your birding happier…

   Those birds are top in the sky but often under-appreciated. Examples are countless. The ego-trip lister who’s got 9414 IOC seen only ✍ but feels frustrated every time a Swiftlet can’t be identified… Fantastic forest viewpoint with those ‘common’ House Swifts on aerial display while the question pops-up; ‘What is there to see here?’ Gush! How about the exhilarating experience unfolding in front of your eyes? Come with me my friends and we’ll work on better and happier birding! It’s like play tennis you know. Have we learned to play properly? ✓ One may shoot the perfect ball but if your game isn’t strong mentally you’d still be the looser some way or another. Not that I would like to compare birding with tennis. ☈ The ballgame has a fixed set of rules and is perfect to be turned into a sport or competition. Birding, for most of us, is a hobby which of course is best managed by many of your own preferences. It barely ever is suitable to be turned into something competitive. In many cases with very keen competitive birding, this may often happen when people either get bored with everyday birds or simply have never really loved the birds themselves. The birds don’t play the game. Why would we want to use them for our game? Respect?? When it all becomes about the birders and what they have scored mmm ✂; Rather it should be more about the life of the birds wouldn’t it? Am I right? Maybe I’m not you say but that would be because of a different game, a shallower one... Anyhow, it is no surprise to me that quite often the Swiftlet flutters past, and us birders don’t even give it worth a glimpse 💔 ☹

 I’m making a call here for the masters of the sky. Often underrated and underappreciated and there is no good reason. Let’s play our birding stronger, because happiness lies in the small, little things. So suddenly present and yet instantly gone again, a Swifts’ appearance is fascinating to say the least. Yet brief, it is one of only a few birds able to produce powerful feelings and create a clear image in the mind.

The expat’s choice of place to live; ☼ tropical of course. I did it for the Swifts. A few Swifts for only 3 summer months a year? Nine months cold ❅ without my friends in the sky? Oh no please. My new home has got Flossy Swiftlet, Asian Palm Swift, Philippine Needletail, Purple Needletail, Island Swiftlet, Pygmy Swiftlet, Philippine Swiftlet and House Swift year round. No empty skies for me. Feel an itch now? Well, hop on the plane ✈ for an escape to Swift paradise. Have a taste. No need to be an expat and you don’t have to stay for the rest of your life for having the experience. Start watching Swifts because after all there would be few other animals on the planet that can provide you with such pure sensation.

Another something Swifts have learned me is to appreciate bird photography more. This was especially true when changing from digiscoping to the more versatile DSLR-camera + lens. I was now able to freeze Swift flight and it has revealed details you would never be able to see through binoculars in the field. Swifts are not birds which invite the casual observer to engage close inspection of bodily details. Photography further enhances appreciation for the birds. And of course to shoot Swifts is a little direct interaction between the photographer and the birds. It should be fun. I’m not using those very expensive lenses. How are you doing? Getting frustrated trying to get any single Swift shot sharp enough? You should not. After all, those Swifts are the fastest birds on the planet. It is normal that the Swift will win most of the time. Just have fun and try again playing your hobby stronger, because contentment lies in the small, little things.

May I conclude with a few links to some astounding flight shots;
White-throated Needletail ; Purple Needletail ; Common Swift ; Pacific Swift ; Glossy Swiftlet ; Himalayan Swiftlet