On 31 May 2024, the south coast of England saw one of its largest movements of swifts of recent years, with some sites recording thousands of birds. Might some of this late influx bolster the UK’s struggling breeding population this summer? Here’s hoping.
The following post is a repeat of one published in 2022.
For many of us the most welcome sound we’re likely to hear over an urban street will be the high-flying squeal of the swift.
Swifts are among the latest of our summer birds to return, with just a few pioneering individuals recorded before late April, and many not arriving until well into May.
We often hear their distinctive screams before we see them, high over our rooftops or racing at chimney-height along the streets.
More than perhaps any other bird, swifts are truly creatures of the air. They spend the great majority of their days (and nights) on the wing, landing only to raise young.
Indeed their Latin name ‘apus’ means ‘without feet’, which is inaccurate but an understandable mistake, given that their tiny landing gear is hardly ever on show.
Early in the season it’s the adults that can be heard and seen, often in groups, reclaiming their streets and skies.
Later on, in July, they are joined by their scalier-looking offspring for practice laps and feeding sorties, again shrieking away as they tour the neighbourhood.
Unlike the similarly aerodynamic swallows and martins, they raise only one brood, and are among the earliest of our birds to head back South.
Swifts have undergone one of the sharpest recent declines of any of our birds, with more than half disappearing between 1995 and 2016.
One of the reasons appears to be a lack of suitable breeding sites, as their favoured eaves and roof cavities are lost to renovations.
One solution to this may be the way we build houses.
While there’s nothing brick-like about a swift, the placement of hollow ‘swift bricks’ set high into the walls of new homes could create many new places to nest. And not just for swifts, but for house sparrows, starlings and other species struggling to make a home in neighbourhoods that have become a little too tidy.
The common swift winters in central and southern Africa, and breeds from Ireland in the West to India and Eastern Siberia in the East.
To find out more about how to help swifts, visit Swift Conservation and watch out for local events duing Swift Awareness Week, 29 June - 7 July 2024 - details on the RSPB website.
**For a few weeks only** Watch swifts on the nest in Cambridge! More swift nestbox cameras on the CCI website - thanks Anne C for the link).
🎸 Link of the week
I belly-laughed several times while reading this from Sarah Crowder.
We watched and listened after one Woodcock after another (3 in total!) flew over us here too, and my mum pointed out how similar their call sounds to someone farting a lot as they walk up some stairs. I’m giving you that analogy for free poets and songwriters.
Subscribed! Thanks to Chris T-T and Lev Parikian for the introduction.
🌊 Next week: How to Identify a Marsh Warbler + The Great Merlin Backlash Has Begun
Thanks for reading and listening.
This is instalment #22 in 2024’s cycle of Shriek of the Week. You can catch up with Red-backed Shrike, Goldfinch, Tree Pipit, Blue Tit, Reed Warbler, Cuckoo, Willow Warbler, Swallow, Green Woodpecker, Blackcap, Nuthatch, Starling, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Wren, Dunnock, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Robin, Great Tit, Song Thrush and Blackbird.
June is the last month until 2025 that there will be weekly posts, but monthly Early Bird Club Zoom sessions continue every first Saturday through the year for paying subscribers.
Thank you to Chloe, Chris and Lesley for your support. ⭐️
~ Charlie
Media credits:
Thanks to Lawrence Shove & British Library for the audio, and to makamuki0 for the image of a young swift.
Shriek of the Week: Swift