The sight of screaming swifts in our skies may become a thing of the past as their numbers decline. Nick Brown, of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, explains why and how a new project aims to help.
BLARING pop music coming from an open window may be the sound of summer in the city for some, but for me and many others, it is the noise of swifts as they career over our rooftops.
These enigmatic birds are extraordinary. They live out their lives entirely on the wing, only landing when they nest. This means that as the young fly off to Southern Africa for the winter, which they are doing right now, they will stay airborne for the next two years at least. Only when they start nesting themselves will they land again, and then only high up on a building and never on the ground or in a tree. They feed on the wing (eating insects in their hundreds), drink on the wing and even sleep on the wing.
They are reported to mate on the wing. I've seen two briefly lock together in flight myself. However, whether they are indeed mating or just courting, reserving full mating for the confines of their nest, remains one of many mysteries surrounding this strange but fascinating bird.
Swifts are all black and have long scimitar-shaped wings. By comparison, swallows and house martins are smaller and also white underneath so you shouldn't mistake a swift for either of the other similar species.
While house martins build mud nests under our eaves and swallows nest on beams, usually inside stables or barns, swifts make no visible nest at all. Instead, they fly up under our eaves, using whatever tiny crack they can find to gain entry into the roof space.
Swifts are essentially urban birds, nesting only on our buildings, especially older ones where small openings are still available.
And this is the problem: swifts are declining in the UK, partly because they are excluded from their nests when buildings are renovated, new soffits or barge boards are fitted or when a house is reroofed or has a loft conversion.
Compared to 20 years ago, swift numbers have dropped by up to a half. So unless we start to look after them, they could become a thing of the past.
A new project, run jointly by the Derbyshire Ornithological Society (DOS) and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust (DWT), aims to raise the profile of this troubled species and to try to ensure it is protected at its nest sites.
To do that, we need to find out which streets and which properties swifts are still using for breeding. So, if you have seen these screaming 'devil birds' near where you live, please call the DWT office on 01773 881188 or send an e-mail to enquiries@ derbyshirewt.co.uk. Exact location details plus postcode should enable us to pinpoint the birds for our records.
We have advice leaflets both for householders (swifts make no mess and cause no damage) and for builders, architects and developers to show how easy it is to create small entrances for them.
