A 33-year old retrospective lifer

I was nosing around the Field Studies Council website, eyeing up identification guides for obscure insect orders, when I came across a guide to flat-flies. That set alarm bells ringing! I used to hold a ringing permit (I gave up my A-permit in 1983) and back in the mid to late 1970s helped ring at Beddington Sewage Farm. We used to regularly mist net Swifts, and these birds were commonly infested with flat flies, something I had totally forgotten about until this evening. A bit of research revealed that these flat-flies are of the species Crataerina pallida. So, 33 years after I last handled a Swift and saw one of the birds 'tenants', I can add it to my pan-species list. The ultimate armchair tick...

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