Swift; Vencejo Común

Description:

Mostly Common Swifts but the one at the top may be a Pallid.

Habitat:

Flying over coastal marshes.

Notes:

In the mornings massive flocks of Hirundines can be seen here, Swallows at the bottom, sometimes very close to the ground, just a couple of inches; then come the Martins, usually head height up to a little over tree-top height; finally the Swifts, which are down at a little above head top height in the early morning but when the thermals start they go up with the cloudbase to several thousand feet. The Swallows are a mix of Barn and Red-rumped; the Martin's are House and Sand in the summer with Crag in the winter when they come down from the mountains; most of the Swifts are Common or Pallid, with the occasional Alpine. In the winter a few Red-rumped Swallows can occasionally be see and Crag Martins are common along the Mediterranean coast and in some towns and cities.