Sir, In the 1960s and 1970s, flying gliders across East Anglia, I encountered dozens of swifts circling in nearly every thermal, pursuing the insects that were swept up in the rising air to 4,000ft and more. I have not noticed many swifts recently (“Ted Hughes was a prophet of climate change”, Opinion, Dec 3), though buzzards and kites still help mark the lift for us. There also seem to be fewer dead insects on our gliders’ wings than there used to be, so perhaps the swifts’ food source is diminishing.
Whatever the cause, Ted Hughes would be dismayed.
Michael Bird
London SW13