Wednesday 18 July 2012

Feeding up

Fifty or more Swifts feeding over the flood this evening on the Carr so bearing in mind they will not be here for much longer I snapped away and learnt a lot.
It had never occurred to me that Swifts had a crop but the evidence is clear to see and not surprising really for a bird so reticent to land. I wonder how many flies are stuffed in there?
The birds beak has almost disappeared in the chubby face!
Secondly, I have always regarded the Swift regarded as a dark shadow in the sky but actually it's quite translucent.
Still a bit of a bugger to get good shots of but worth the challenge.

4 comments:

  1. Nice photo's, that crop is something else!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Peter,

    nice pics, it looks like they are carrying a golf ball around. Wonder how much it affects their flight pattern ?

    John

    ReplyDelete
  3. How did you persuade them to slow down? I have seen fewer swifts this year than ever. Worrying.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Use of the wind Anton. Stand at a gap in a hedge with a stiff breeze blowing over it. Get onto the bird as it approaches and as it rises over the hedge the wind catches it often slowing it to a standstill or better still the bird fly catches or side slips on the breeze. Simples (in theory)
    Poor weather means they've had limited feeding opportunities so town birds may have decanted to areas with open water.

    ReplyDelete