They're here. Swifts have been spotted in London this last Sunday (26 April) but I've yet to see them over my house.
With today's grey skies and showers it would seem wrong for them to appear. I want my first sighting of 2009 to be on a sunny day with clear blue skies as I relax in a comfy chair with a mug of coffee; the moment heralded by the bird's distinct screech making me raise my eyes.
Things never happen that way though and I'll probably get my first glimpse of these amazing creatures as I cycle to work and won't be able to stop and admire them with awe and wonder. Swifts are incredible birds. their legs are too weak to stand, land or play football. They spend almost their entire lives in the air. They sleep in the sky, feed and drink in the sky. Play and mate in the sky. They live in a different dimension to us.
Because of the way they live it's hard to monitor their numbers but we have been able to confirm a decline in their population. Yet another species vanishing before our very eyes. There are things we can do. Installing swift boxes so they have plenty of places to lay eggs (the rare annual moment when they come down to earth and enter our dimension) is a huge help. Doing what we can in gardens and open spaces to encourage insects rather than decimating their numbers with chemical poisons is another way to support swifts. There are other factors affecting their population, such as the spread of the Sahara Desert, and these are driven by pollution and climate change.
Looking through the entries to our Mind the Bird photo competition reminds me how diverse and wonderful London's bird population is. Yes, pigeons do feature in the entries. So too do herons, mandarin ducks, kingfishers, long tailed tits, green woodpeckers, owls, cormorants, sparrows, hawks, seagulls and many more. You'll need to upload your photos to our Flickr page. In the photo title, tell us which tube station was nearest, which category (Adult, under 18 or staff) you're entering and a brief mention of your thoughts when snapping the image. For instance, were you amazed, did it connect you with nature and how?
Finally, -if you're at a loose end for something to do this Bank Holiday, try ThamesWatch09. All you need do is wander along the banks of the Thames or any one of its tributaries. We'd like to know what you see and where you saw it, whether it's a water vole, a little egret or just a clown-footed coot.
Go out and explore. London's a great place to spot wildlife. Look hard enough and you'll most likely find more diverse wildlife here in this urban setting than you'll come across in a National Park.