Felicity turned and regarded the habillements draping every surface in the dressing room. “I cannot comprehend how you managed to produce all this in so little time.”
“I have yet to see Lady Coleman quail from a challenge.” O’Mara smirked.
“When needs must, I am quite swift,” Jemima added and the two of them roared with laughter.
“I feel rather left out of the joke,” Felicity admitted once they had subsided.
From A Wolf in Duke’s Clothing
‘Swift’ is a very handy verb when I want to make a shapeshifty pun, as is ‘quail’. It’s amazing how many animal puns and idioms there are in common parlance.
Not so commonly known is that swifts – class: aves; order: apodiformes – are seriously endangered and their population has declined over 40% since 2009.
In the apartment I lived in, hmmm… three apartments ago, I had housemartins come to nest on the burglar alarm thingie that was on the balcony. I loved to see them, year after year; hear them? Not so much as the fledges woke me every morning at 5am for their breakfast until they got their licence to fly.
I noticed over the course of two years that they’d been coming later and later in the. Season. There also was a snowpocalpyse in 2010/11 and the nest had gotten wrecked. (I hope they didn’t think I had broken it to pieces!)
Even though there are many differences between housemartins and swifts, many of the same things apply. The main one is that they remember where their nest is and return to it every year.
A main reason for of the dwindling numbers is due to them having built in older buildings, which are disappearing as they are knocked down to make way for newer
When they return, and the nests are gone, the birds are essentially homeless.
Also, the loss of insect life – the birds’ source of sustenance – is having the predictable knock on effect. That can be blamed on pesticide use and climate change.
If you’re in the UK, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has a whole week of events to enjoy.
If you’re in Ireland, check out Swift Conservation Ireland, there’s a great Powerpoint with more info.
Swift Awareness week runs from Saturday 29 June to Sunday 7 July
Susanna Allen | Writer 
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