When I opined on our sluggish spring last week, I mentioned that I had not yet seen chimney swifts in Columbia, Missouri, almost two weeks behind schedule. Well, late this morning, while working in the yard, I heard their high-pitched twitter and looked up to find eight of the agile hunters swooping above our property.
One might forgive their tardiness in light of the chilly spring but also because they have traveled all the way from the Amazon Basin, where they spend the winter. Common summer residents throughout the Central and Eastern U.S. and Southern Canada, they will seek out chimneys, old silos and tree cavities in which to nest. Oblivious of summer heat, they spend most of the day strafing the skies for flying insects; since insect hordes often take flight in the evening, these swifts, like common nighthawks, are often best observed at dusk.
I'm just glad to see that they are safely back in the American Heartland. At my age, unusual delays tend to be worrisome.
