Country diary: Build for the swifts, and they will come

Central Belfast: Thanks to a little forward planning, an arts centre is now home to Northern Ireland's largest colony of these 'international mobsters'A thudding rhythm comes belting out of a nearby bar, taxis double-parked outside. Looking up at the sky's darkening turquoise, I feel like the party's gatecrasher. No one else seems to have heard what is slicing through the noise ... Sssrreeeeee, ssrreeeeeee.The Irish for swift is gabhlán gaoithe ("forked one of the wind"), which captures the bird's hunch-shouldered long-winged silhouette and its commitment to flight. After fledging, these small screamers are as immersed in air as fish are in water. They sleep, drink and preen on the wing; and, hurtling at almost motorway speed, their superb vision identifies insect prey to seize with staggering accuracy. Continue reading...