Throughout summer, we are treated to the spectacular and acrobatic aerial displays of the swift – a small but incredible bird. While watching them dive and swoop through the sky just about anywhere, from fields and meadows to villages and town centres, it’s easy to forget that there’s more to this little bird than meets the eye.

Swifts eat, sleep, drink and mate in flight

From late August to April they live in Africa, south of the Sahara, and make the 5000+ mile journey each year to breed in the UK. If that wasn’t enough exercise for a lifetime, the swift barely ever lands. This amazing creature spends the majority of its life on the wing. From the first time it leaves the nest it eats, sleeps, drinks and can even mate in flight, landing only to breed.

At first glance, swifts are quite similar to swallows and martins but can be distinguished easily after a bit of practice. Note the shape of their wings, which forms a perfect arc in flight, much like a bow. Their tail, while forked, is much shorter and blunter than a swallow’s. They’re dark brown all over, with a small lighter patch on the throat, appearing black against a bright sky. You’ll also never see a swift sat on a cable or tree branch, as you might a swallow or starling.

Despite their size, swifts are one of the fastest birds in level flight with the top speed on record being 69.3mph (Henningsson, 2010) – not far off the national speed limit! Their preferred cuisine is small insects – huge amounts of aphids, spiders, flying ants and more, which they can catch while flying at speeds of around 20mph. This may also be the reason that they’re rarely caught by birds of prey, with garden birds being easier to keep up with.

Numbers are in decline due to loss of habitat

While we do see good numbers of swifts throughout various habitats, they are in decline, mainly due to loss of habitat. Because of their airborne nature, they only nest in roof spaces and the eaves of older houses and buildings, so that they can drop from the nest directly into flight. Modern houses tend not to have these very specific cavity sites and so leave swifts with fewer options for nesting.

They pair for life and revisit the same nest each year

If you’d like to give swifts a helping hand after their long flight to the UK, special nesting boxes can be bought or made and installed high up in a shady position, with no obstructions for access and out of reach for predators. Swifts pair for life and will revisit the same nest each year, so you’re likely to see them again. Think of it as a swift ‘holiday home’!

Before too long they’ll make their journey back to Africa, so be sure to look up in town and country this August, take in their spectacular performances, give a thought to their jam-packed lives and say a fond farewell to the last of the summer visitors, until next year.