White-throated swifts are common summer residents throughout the American West, nesting on the sheer walls of canyons and rock monuments. Social birds, they often roost, nest and hunt in large flocks, catching insects in the air. Come September, these handsome swifts depart most of the Western States to winter in Southern California, the Desert Southwest, Mexico or Central America.
Though they are abundant in the foothill canyons and "red rock" formations of the Front Range foothills, I had never observed one above our Littleton farm, which is about six miles to the east; this evening, as I retrieved our garbage can from the curb, I looked up just in time to see one as he flew west toward the setting sun.
I suspect the cool, rainy weather that began last night and continued into the morning had encouraged him to hunt at a lower elevation; whatever the reason, I was glad he passed overhead, the first to join my farm bird list that is now almost 30 years old.
Though they are abundant in the foothill canyons and "red rock" formations of the Front Range foothills, I had never observed one above our Littleton farm, which is about six miles to the east; this evening, as I retrieved our garbage can from the curb, I looked up just in time to see one as he flew west toward the setting sun.
I suspect the cool, rainy weather that began last night and continued into the morning had encouraged him to hunt at a lower elevation; whatever the reason, I was glad he passed overhead, the first to join my farm bird list that is now almost 30 years old.
