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| Alpine swift - this bird was seen from afar over the seafront in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, at noon today |
Following this spring's exceptional influx of Alpine swifts into Britain, our archivist has been trawling past records and come up with the following:
Hampshire Advertiser, May 26, 1886
On the 28th of April, I saw two specimens of this rare visitant (Cypselus melba) flying over a pond about a mile east of Basingstoke. I first saw them from a distance and was attracted by their enormous expanse of wing. The swallows flying near them looked mere pygmies. Upon going to the edge of the pond I was able to examine their plumage very clearly. They were quite fearless and came near to where I was standing. There could be no doubt about the species. Their flight was very gentle and peculiarly graceful. They were occupied in picking insects off the surface of the water, and this they accomplished by a series of short, slow, curving stoops of a few yards, made very deliberately.
James Salter.
London Evening Standard, June 21, 1893
Those of your readers who are birdlovers and ornithologists may be interested to hear that on Sunday last, the 18th inst., when watching a number of swallows and swifts which were swooping up and down through the air at a great height, I noticed amongst them a swift of unusual size. I watched it closely, and when, in rather a low flight, it came within twenty yards of me. I was also struck by its colour which was of a light mouse-brown. From the description given by Howard Saunders in his British Birds, I cannot help thinking this must have been the Alpine swift which, he says, is a rare visitor to this country, its first having been noticed in Ireland in 1829. Since then, about a score of instances are on record of its having been being seen in England, and then generally in the south. I should be very glad to know if this bird has been seen elsewhere this summer, and whether my supposition is likely to have been a correct one. Can any of your readers enlighten me? I am, Sir, your obedient servant.
M. Laws, Easingwold, Yorkshire.
London Evening Standard, June 22, 1893
It may interest Mr. Laws to know that on the morning of the 17th inst. I noticed two swifts of a very large size. They appeared to be almost as large again as the ordinary swift, and were a peculiar mouse-brown colour. The description of these birds appears to tally with that of Mr. Laws, and 1 should think that they are the Alpine swifts that Mr. Laws names. I am, Sir, your obedient servant.
W. A. De Mereall, Belvedere, Kent.
The Scotsman, June 13, 1924
Some of your , many readers will be interested to know that I saw to-day an Alpine swift at Caithness. It was much larger than the common swift, brown above and white beneath.
A lover of birds.
Western Morning News, Oct 5, 1938
For a few minutes yesterday, an Alpine swift was watched almost over the house. When I first caught sight of the bird not far off, I thought it was a very late common swift. Its general form and manner of holding the long, scythe-shaped wings rigidly outstretched, lifting and hanging in the strong west wind was like the more familiar bird. Its true identity occurred to me almost instantly, however, and hastily I procured field-glasses. With good fortune the bird drifted right back until it was practically overhead, and, in the bright sunlight, afforded a splendid view of the white throat and belly, with the broad dark brown band across the upper breast. Gradually, it glided into the wind, twice half-closing its long wings and diving steeply, the second descent carrying it out of sight.
R. G. Adams, Lympstone
Western Morning News, December 3, 1938
While out shooting recently with Dr. T. H. Ward and a party of guns on Weston, about a mile from Totnes, we saw what we took to be an Alpine swift hawking for flies. We watched it for fully five minutes, and it once passed within five yards of Dr. Ward and myself. I was pretty certain at the time it was an Alpine swift, having seen them many years ago in Crete where they were fairly common. Returning to Weston, we looked up the bird in a book by R. Lydekker, and came to the conclusion that it was undoubtedly an Alpine swift. As they only appear in England at apparently rare intervals, perhaps it is worth recording.
F. J. C. Holdsworth, The Mount, Totnes.
Liverpool Echo, March 17, 1988
A bird found in a distressed condition after having being blown 1,000 miles off course to Britain is in need of a 'lift' back to its Mediterranean territory. The Alpine swift turned up near Birmingham, exhausted and hungry, and is being cared for at the Sandwell Valley Reserve in the Midlands, where officials hope an airline will offer it a free trip home.
Liverpool Echo, March 18, 1988
A rare Alpine swift, stranded in Birmingham after being blown off course by gales is guaranteed an easy flight home courtesy of British Airways. The bird will a VIP passenger on a BA flight due to leave Birmingham Airport for Portugal on Sunday.
Sandwell Evening Mail, March 21, 1988
The Alpine swift, which has a 20in wing span and is dark brown with a white chest, has been a popular guest at a sanctuary and was nicknamed 'Edwin' by staff. Yesterday Mr Warren handed over his charge to British Airways Captain Peter Kennet who flew the bird from Birmingham International Airport to Faro in Portugal. 'Edwin' was expected to be released today so that he could continue the journey to his breeding ground.
Daily Mirror, October 15, 1991
Scores of birdwatchers who flocked to see a rare Alpine swift feared the worst when it hit a phone line and plunged to the ground. The twitchers rushed the stricken bird to a local hotel at St Mary's, Isles of Scilly. After an hour's breather in the kitchens, it recovered and flew off.
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