On the 29th of July my last young Swift took its first flight.
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I'm certainly going to miss having these little faces looking out at me each day.
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It was fun watching him stretch his mouth more often today, no doubt getting ready to catch his very own first flying insect.
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I know the adults returned regularly all day to feed this last chick, at least until 3pm.
Then I know it fledged between 3pm & 6pm.
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I was fairly certain it was going to leave today & follow its sibling or siblings, but it was just my luck that I watched it from 8am until 3pm, then I had to leave & when I came home again, it had gone.
Having said that I am, of course, absolutely delighted that my very first pair of Swifts successfully reared their first brood.
It's been a 3 year wait to get to this point but I was never in a hurry & now I have the thought that they will surely return next year to hopefully repeat this initial success & with a little luck their success might rub off & others might join them here, in my north Antrim garden.
I'm certainly going to miss my daily fix of watching the adults returning to & from the nest box.
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I wish my first Swift family a very safe trip home to Africa & if I'm spared, I'll certainly be eagerly waiting for them to return in 2019.
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Short Video clips taken in my garden today - 29th July 2018
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