Herring gull family, swift aerobatics and singing blackbird

The second herring gull pair I have been watching, on the roof seen from the front of our house, have three chicks. They also managed to produce to young last year, whereas the nest I have been watching from the back of our house only has two chicks again this year.

These three chicks are every active and vulnerable to falling off the roof. The parents become quite defensive towards passerby when the chicks are wandering.

The swifts have returned and since early May they have been flying high much of the time.

Now they are diving and screeching over our garden as the pass the nests in the eaves of next doors house.

The blackbird now sings from our roof much more frequently now the tree in our back neighbours garden has been cut down.

The tree was its favourite singing post. Blackbird has to be one of the most beautiful and musical of bird song.

Aerobatic Swifts

I have been enjoying my own personal aerobatic display every day as the swifts fly past their nest site next door. As our bungalow is on higher ground than our neighbour they screech across our garden our garden at some where between knee and head height.

I stand by the bush at the front corner of our garden, adjacent to our neighbours and they zoom by so close I can sometimes feel the draft created by their wing beats. Its also a good place to watch them fly up under the eaves to their nests.

As they say, a picture paints a thousand words, so here are some of my favourite shots.

They really are spectacular birds. Its always like greeting old friends when they return each year. I am going to miss them once they leave for Africa later in the year.

This ones a blackbird flying up onto our roof. A vintage plane to the swifts supersonic jets but equally spectacular in its own rights.