The rescued swift

I am a member of the swift group of the local Wildlife Trust. We monitor where the swifts nest and encourage people to provide nest sites on their buildings as swift numbers are dropping, one of the factors being loss of suitable sites.

This youngster was given to the group having been caught by a cat and has shown no desire to fly though pronounced fit by the vet. The leader of the group has been looking after the bird for the ten days since it was found, feeding it seven times a day on dead crickets. I was invited to see it before it goes to a rescue centre after the weekend. It was exercising it's wings and then clinging onto her clothes but not taking to the air. It's legs are very small as it spends it's life on the wing, only landing to breed so doesn't need bigger ones but sharp claws that are very efficient at gripping .

It was a privilege to be so close to this amazing bird and see the beautiful feather patterns that can't be seen when it it's flying around the sky.

I don't know what it's future will be if it doesn't fly and migrate to Africa with the rest of it's kind, but we can only wish it well.