This summer, Swift Awareness Week takes place from Saturday 27 June to Sunday 5 July 2026. It's an opportunity to celebrate these remarkable birds and take action to support their declining populations.
The UK is experiencing a Swift population crisis. Breeding numbers have plummeted by over 68% in recent decades, earning them a place on the UK Red List of Conservation Concern. A part of this dramatic decline can be attributed to changes in our built environment and the very structures that Swifts have depended upon for nesting sites for centuries.
However, this challenge presents a clear opportunity. By incorporating simple, cost-effective measures into both new developments and renovation projects, we can directly contribute to stabilising and recovering Swift populations. The solutions are well-established, increasingly supported by planning policy, and straightforward to implement when considered early in the design process.
Swift Awareness Week is a timely opportunity to celebrate their extraordinary ecology, reflect on the challenges they face, and highlight practical interventions that can help secure long-term population resilience.
Life On The Wing
Each year from April to August, the unmistakable screams of Swift (Apus apus) returning to the UK signal the true arrival of summer, having migrated around 6,000 miles from southern Africa. These remarkable birds spend almost their entire lives on the wing, yet they depend on our built environment to breed.
Swifts are among the most aerial of all bird species. Outside the breeding season, they eat, drink, sleep and even mate on the wing. Some individuals have been recorded staying airborne for months at a time, only landing to breed.
Their distinctive sickle-shaped wings allow them to manoeuvre with incredible agility, feeding on flying insects caught mid-air. This lifestyle makes Swifts uniquely adapted to the skies, but also exceptionally vulnerable to changes within them.
Despite their large migratory range, Swifts show strong fidelity to their nesting sites, returning to the same location year after year, raising future generations of this iconic bird. This reliance on traditional sites means any loss of nesting opportunities can have long-lasting consequences for local populations.
The Built Environment Challenge
Unlike many bird species, Swifts are closely associated with buildings. Historically, they nested in cracks and crevices in cliffs, but over centuries they have adapted to use gaps in roofs, eaves and brickwork, particularly present in older buildings such as churches.
Modern construction and renovation practices, however, have dramatically reduced these opportunities. Sealed rooflines, replacement fascia boards and increased insulation efficiency often unintentionally exclude Swifts, even in areas where adults are still returning to breed.
As a result, Swifts are now one of the UK’s fastest-declining bird species, with the breeding population having fallen by more than 68% between 1995 and 2023, according to the British Trust for Ornithology.
Planning policy progress
National planning policy is increasingly recognising the importance of protecting and enhancing biodiversity within the built environment, with proposed amendments to the National Planning Policy Framework including the requirement to include Swift bricks in new development.
At a local level, many local authorities including Leeds City Council, Exeter City Council and Brighton and Hove City Council have published guidance or supplementary planning documents on including Swift bricks within new development.
Why Swifts Matter
Swifts are valuable indicators of environmental health. Their reliance on airborne insects as a food source links them directly to wider ecosystem trends, including the availability of invertebrates and the impacts of pesticide use and climate change.
Their arrival to the UK and their aerial displays also have cultural value to many of us, being synonymous with summer evenings and a small but iconic example of nature coexisting with humans.
Five Ways You Can Help Swifts
The good news is that Swift conservation can be supported in several different ways, particularly when measures are planned early. Here are five ways you can make a difference in supporting Swifts:
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IntegratedSwiftbricks and boxes
Purpose-built Swift bricks or boxes can be incorporated into new developments or retrofit projects at minimal cost. Installed high on north or east-facing elevations, these features provide long-term, low-maintenance nesting opportunities that do not conflict with human use of buildings.
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Retrofitting existing buildings
Where known nesting sites exist, works should retain access points wherever possible. If this isn’t feasible, replacement nesting provision should be installed prior to works commencing to avoid permanent site loss.
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Timing and considerate maintenance
Avoiding disturbance during the breeding season (typically May to August) is crucial. Simple scheduling adjustments to works can prevent nest abandonment or breeding failure.
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Volunteer
Local Swift conservation groups exist across the country, so if you can volunteer some time to help record their presence, monitor breeding success or build Swift boxes, or simply fancy learning more about these fascinating birds, please enquire with your local Swift group.
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Wider habitat support
Reducing pesticide use, creating high-quality green infrastructure which benefits pollinators and altering management techniques can all help improve food availability for Swifts and other insectivores.
Taking Action For Swifts
Swift Awareness Week is about action. By recognising the ecological needs of Swifts and embedding simple interventions into the way we design, maintain and improve buildings, we can play a meaningful role in securing their future.
Swifts have adapted to live alongside humans for centuries. With thoughtful planning and small changes, we can ensure they continue to return each summer, filling our skies with their unmistakable sound for generations to come.
If you have a development that is required to provide Swift bricks as part of an ecological enhancement plan, our team of experts can help to identify suitable locations, recommend construction-appropriate products and produce marked-up plans for planning submission.
Speak to our specialist Ecology team at Lucion Delta-Simons Ltd by emailing [email protected].
