Swifts return in time for a week of awareness and celebration!
Just in time for UK Swift Awareness Week 2026 (starts 27th June), Swifts have returned in numbers to their colonies, and started their amazing screaming parties again following the cold wet spell, much to the joy of the many Swift watchers throughout the UK.
More than 150 local Swift groups from Aberdeen to Devon are working to help this charismatic bird whose numbers have dropped by over 60% in the last 25 years. This decline has been caused almost entirely by human actions, namely by blocking up the birds’ nest entrances when renovation work like re-roofing, adding plastic soffits and external wall insulation takes place.
110 local awareness-raising events will run between 27 June and 5 July to highlight this beautiful bird, which nests inside our roofs and gives such pleasure to many, even in the centre of our ancient towns and cities. Edward Mayer has worked for Swifts in the UK and Europe for the past 24 years. He said:
“Swifts are the most spectacular, dramatic and exciting bird that we can see right above our homes and gardens, and they nest alongside us in our eaves and gables, so it’s not surprising that so many people love and want to help them in their time of need. Spending nine months of the year in constant flight on migration and then in deepest Africa, our Swifts return to nest here in May, but fly South again by the end of August.
They absolutely love this hot weather, as it makes catching their flying insect food so easy. If it is cold and wet while chicks are in the nest and food is not available, they show their dinosaur ancestry by slowing down and going into torpor. This allows them to tick over until the parent birds can feed them by bringing in a “food ball”, a compressed ball of hundreds of tiny insects which they have caught on the wing.“
Nick Brown, UK SAW Founder and Coordinator, added:
“Swift Awareness Week Events are mostly gentle evening walks to help local communities watch these super-fast and agile birds dash low over our roofs. In addition there are talks, displays and some events especially for children.
Taking place from the South coast to the North of Scotland, the 110 events are listed on the Action for Swifts blog here: Action for Swifts: SAW events 2026 with a link showing where they are located.
The week is supported by the RSPB which kindly promotes the week’s events for us“.
Sadly there have been several cases this spring where active Swift nests have been blocked or even destroyed by maintenance or renovation works on older properties. On a railway viaduct in Derbyshire, Network Rail blocked three nest entrances and only after a hard fought campaign by local Swift lovers did they open them up again and agree to adding some new nest boxes.
In addition to the loss of nest sites on old buildings, new ones have no provision for birds like Swifts and House Sparrows to nest unless internal ‘Swift bricks’ are installed at the time the walls are being built. This is simple and very cheap but still very few developers agree to do so.
Nick added: “This makes Swift Awareness Week all the more important“.
ENDS
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