April ends with 'Fine Flight Weather'

The last four days of April 2020 saw a change in the weather - a change in the wind direction that is eagerly awaited by our welcome summer migrants:

Swifts.

Swifts spend almost all their lives on the wing and head north from Africa only to breed, with  a choice of suitable countries which fortunately still include England. We still have old buildings such as church towers and water towers to which they return each year. New specially made Swift nest boxes and Swift bricks in newbuildings are checked out but are sometimes left until suitably shabby before being used.

Monday 27th started on a suitably cloudy note but 'deteriorated' later, ending in a fine sunny evening…. 

There were good numbers of singing chiffchaffs and some common whitethroats in the young trees and a grey heron was seen heading for it's lookout oak over a drainage basin. Nuthatches called and robins, wrens and house sparrows sang.

The weather improved the following day April 28th with fine continuous rain overnight, and more during the day, remaining cloudy.

Wednesday 29th was even better, starting cloudy, becoming quite dark with a Southerly wind.

Heavy rain was forecast but initially birds were singing loudly even under such dark conditions.

Blackcaps, robins, dunnock and blackbirds, with soft calls from a bullfinch. Two goldcrests flew into a conifer and a pair of jays flew back and forth building or strengthening a nest, carrying twigs. Looking up at the goldcrests and beyond at the leaden sky I saw a swift quite high, catching insects, then another   

and a third keeping quite close together. They were visible flying directly overhead then drifting off towards an area with buildings where they have traditionally nested in summer.

I guessed that they had been waiting somewhere across the channel and seized the chance of a 'swift' and easy crossing into Sussex as soon as conditions were favourable i.e. a southerly wind!

They had chosen a window of good conditions, as the next day, 30th April turned very windy with hail and heavy rain.

Swifts were reported to have first arrived further north in Norfolk several days after that.

Wild flowers flourished after the rain

This is Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys)

or 'Bird's Eye'

said to be a lucky flower to spot for those on a journey, walking along the track - hence 'speedwell'.

This year they seemed to be quite prevalent for a while.