Meet the Swifts
Swifts are avian acrobats, known for their remarkable flying abilities and migratory behaviour. These birds are often seen darting through the sky with incredible speed and agility, rarely landing. They are summer visitors to the UK, arriving in late April or early May and departing in late July or August to migrate to their wintering grounds in Africa.
What they need
- Swifts usually nest in buildings with small crevices or gaps under eaves and in roof spaces. They prefer nesting in colonies and strongly prefer to return to the same nesting site year after year. This means that the modern habitat of sealing up gaps under eaves has seriously affected their breeding success.
- Swifts feed mostly on tiny insects and invertebrates high up in the atmosphere that are sometimes referred to as “aerial plankton,” though they will also take prey up to the size of a hoverfly.
What you can do to help
- If you’re lucky enough to have swifts nesting in your building please protect and preserve their nesting site. If essential building works mean the loss of the nesting site fit swift boxes or swift bricks as close to the original nest site as possible and schedule the building works for when swifts are overseas from September to April.
- Nesting sites are in short supply so if you have high walls with a clear approach for these fast-flying birds consider adding more by installing swift bricks and/or swift nest boxes. Swifts are sociable birds so some people install speakers playing swift calls to encourage them to investigate new nest sites. Follow the links below to find out more about this and installing nesting sites generally.
- Insect populations have plummeted in recent years due to habitat loss, pesticides and pollution, so anything you can do to support flying bugs could help bolster supplies for swifts feeding high above us. Ponds and water features, pollinator-friendly plants, shrubs and trees, green walls, living roofs and anything that provides food, moisture and cover for invertebrates will help.
Fascinating facts
- Swifts are superb fliers whose elaborate aerial displays, often accompanied by loud screaming calls, are spectacular to watch.
- After leaving the nest fledglings probably don’t land at all for the next two to three years of their lives. Adults are capable of flying continuously for months at a time without landing. They mate and even sleep on the wing, with half of their brain remaining alert while the other half sleeps.
- Swifts have long lifespans, with some individuals living up to 20 years, and probably keep the same mate for life.
- They have specialised adaptations for aerial life, including short legs and strong, curved wings ideal for fast and agile flight. They have a distinctive silhouette with a forked tail and swept-back wings.
- The genus name for swifts is Apus which comes from ancient Greek for “no feet” – it used to be believed that they didn’t actually have feet at all.
