Mauersegler or Wallflyers

I am spending more time sitting at my desk at home at the moment as I am in the process of restructuring my work life balance (gosh what an elegant way to say I am trying to work less and have more time for myself). So I have more time to dream and think about things and whilst I do, I can pay more attention to what is going on around me. Just as in London, I loved the starlings, so in Berlin I have become very attached to the swifts. They are called Mauersegler (or wall flyers/gliders) in German, which is very apt name for birds that appear in Berlin in the summer. I imagine that the people who lived here whilst the wall was up, not more than a few hundred yards from where I am living, looked up at the birds circling overhead and wished that they too could fly so easily from one country to another. 

And then there is their cry: they really do screech through the air. (check out this page in German!) I have become addicted to it. It reminds me of where I am and also that I share this bit of the world with not only other animals but also with other people.