Swifting

I went for a walk round the village last night in the hope of seeing some swifts before they nip off home. Swifts are one of my very favourite birds and are only with us for a relatively short time in our summer, typically arriving in early May and leaving us again around the end of July

Simon Barnes writes about Swifting in one of his Bad Birdwatcher books (there are two and I can't remember which one it's in). Swifting involves sitting outside a specially selected country pub, ideally in a picturesque village and drinking real ale while watching swifts 'scream' about outside. The Fleece in Addingham is an excellent venue for this, although the cold and damp weather plus a paucity of birds made last night a less than ideal time for it!