Swifts have been nesting in the Western Wall for centuries. Experts count at least 88 nests in the nooks and crannies of this holy site. The birds swoop and dive above the worshipers, catching insects to feed their young or encouraging their nestlings to take flight. Ruth Sherlock/NPR hide caption toggle caption Ruth Sherlock/NPR JERUSALEM — Every spring at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a rabbi presides over a ceremony to welcome the arrival of the common swift in its great migration about 2,800 miles from Africa. Between February and June, men’s and women’s prayers at the wall mix with the calls of the birds that swoop and dart above this ancient religious site. These scythe-winged birds, researchers believe, have raised their young in the nooks and crannies of these stones since Herodian times, two millennia ago. Researchers have counted 88 nests in recent years. Modern translations of the Bible quote Jeremiah contrasting the regular visits of the swifts with the failure of many of the faithful to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem: “Even the …