Page 9 - Leighton News June 2017
P. 9
9
Apus Apus in Leighton?
No not a gorilla, but an amazing creature - a bird! We all know sharks have evolved to be
the almost perfect swimmer. Around May 4th an extraordinary black bird, almost the
perfect flyer, arrives here for its the breeding season.
Six to eight pairs of Swifts spend three months making their way from sub Saharan
Africa to nest in The White House eaves, where they were born. Although they look
like swallows and martins they are not related. They have evolved in similar ways,
feeding on airborne flies and spiders as well as having similar shapes.
Swifts live for eight to twelve years, flying over two million miles, only alighting to nest,
mostly in buildings. They feed, drink, mate and sleep on the wing. Their legs are so feeble they
are unable to stand. If grounded they need assistance, gently picking them up and relaunching them.
They are very fast and efficient flyers often foraging for food over sixty or so miles away. Watch out
for their 'black arrows' flying displays, screaming en masse over the rooftops, mostly in the
evenings.
Sadly, they too, have a declining population in Britain. It is thought a major reason is a lack of nesting
sites in modern buildings, which are less likely to have open eaves, where they build their simple nests.
It must be a welcome rest after all that flying. By August they are ready to make their three month
journey back to The Southern Hemisphere.
Does anyone else in Leighton have the pleasure of these wonderful birds living with them for the summer?
Rob Landgrebe
Shrewsbury was known as a breeding area for house martins. From 1976 till the mid 90s we had
dozens nesting in our barns but a drought in Africa one year stopped them from returning. They
were replaced by swallows — there seemed to be dozens flying around us until last year when
only two breeding pairs returned and it’s the same this summer; we think they’ve absconded to
nest in our neighbours’ barns DH
Apus Apus in Leighton?
No not a gorilla, but an amazing creature - a bird! We all know sharks have evolved to be
the almost perfect swimmer. Around May 4th an extraordinary black bird, almost the
perfect flyer, arrives here for its the breeding season.
Six to eight pairs of Swifts spend three months making their way from sub Saharan
Africa to nest in The White House eaves, where they were born. Although they look
like swallows and martins they are not related. They have evolved in similar ways,
feeding on airborne flies and spiders as well as having similar shapes.
Swifts live for eight to twelve years, flying over two million miles, only alighting to nest,
mostly in buildings. They feed, drink, mate and sleep on the wing. Their legs are so feeble they
are unable to stand. If grounded they need assistance, gently picking them up and relaunching them.
They are very fast and efficient flyers often foraging for food over sixty or so miles away. Watch out
for their 'black arrows' flying displays, screaming en masse over the rooftops, mostly in the
evenings.
Sadly, they too, have a declining population in Britain. It is thought a major reason is a lack of nesting
sites in modern buildings, which are less likely to have open eaves, where they build their simple nests.
It must be a welcome rest after all that flying. By August they are ready to make their three month
journey back to The Southern Hemisphere.
Does anyone else in Leighton have the pleasure of these wonderful birds living with them for the summer?
Rob Landgrebe
Shrewsbury was known as a breeding area for house martins. From 1976 till the mid 90s we had
dozens nesting in our barns but a drought in Africa one year stopped them from returning. They
were replaced by swallows — there seemed to be dozens flying around us until last year when
only two breeding pairs returned and it’s the same this summer; we think they’ve absconded to
nest in our neighbours’ barns DH
