Two Swifts Shrieking
Two swifts wheeling in the sky
Shrieking with delight –
Not missing their brethren?
In days not long gone
Those same skies
Were full of flocks of screaming swifts.
The air, now a desert,
Teemed with insects
That were scooped with such glee.
There was enough
For many swifts
To gorge themselves and feed their chicks.
Now those insects
Are hard to find
And the future is looking dim.
Do they now shriek with delight or horror?
Opher 23.6.2018
It is so noticeable to me that the skies are emptying. We were so used to seeing the swifts, swallows and house martins, the filter feeders of the skies, putting on their aerial displays.
Where once there were flocks now they appear in pairs. The flocks have gone.
The skies that once buzzed with insects are empty. The insects have gone. There is no food.
The barns and house eaves that provided nesting sites are all knocked down, cleaned up and gone.
It is hard to believe the changes that have taken place in the space of one lifetime.
Were those two swifts really shrieking with delight! I feel they cry in desperation.