What cheered me up recently

[PleasureDrone]

@Melody1

Swifts nesting under my eaves
I pulled back the curtains this morning to see a swift hurtling towards me at speed, then pull up, deposit nest building material and off again, all in one fluid motion. These are my favourite birds, so fast and agile, flying so high so, although I’ll no doubt be woken by hungry chicks at four in the morning over the summer, it is still a privilege.

My favourites too! Many years ago I was stood alone on an open railway platform at a country station. I could hear swifts screaming overhead. Looked up but couldn’t quite pinpoint them. Then something shot past me at head height, right in front of my face - a swift! It made the same pass again and again, back and forth: I could feel the wind on my face each time as it passed. Eventually I saw what it was doing: flying in a huge figure of eight and using me as its pivot-point for the middle of each pass. It was enthralling!