House Martins

One particular day in early summer the sky filled with sickle-shaped birds, some brown, some black and cream.  F consulted various books and announced that they were swifts and house-martins.


Remember that power-wire that stretches across the view from our balcony?  It’s a bird perch.

Most days pigeons perch there and study our balcony for morsels they might steal.  Some days the weight of pigeons makes the wire sag.

When the house-martins arrived some of them used the wire as a vantage point for contemplating the possibilities on our balcony.  Knowing F I suspect she would have welcomed a house-martin nest, at least until their incessant (and loud) chatter drove her nuts.  Me?  Well I would welcome them too – if I could have reached them.





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