Swifties are coming to the rescue of the superstars of the skies

But changing house styles, building demolition and well-intentioned home improvements have seen the tiny holes which swifts once squeezed through to reach spaces to nest, blocked up or lost.

Along with the slump in the flying insects they feed on as they wing their way from Africa to Scotland, has left swift numbers in free fall.

Now as the dwindling swift population makes its way over land and sea, a growing army of ‘Swifties’ is urging new effort to protect existing swift nests, and urgent measures to require builders to provide nest space in new properties and during renovations.

Demands for more serious efforts to halt the decline in swift numbers comes in the wake of confirmation that the new HMP Glasgow, which will replace Victorian-era Barlinnie, is being designed to house a different kind of jailbird: there are plans to incorporate 300 special ‘swift bricks’ into its walls.

Swift bricks installed in a gable wall (Image: RSPB)

The bricks, to be inserted at various spots within the prison’s walls, feature small holes for swifts to enter and are hollowed out so they can make their nests.

It is one of a number of biodiversity plans for the prison, currently under construction at the former Provan Gas Works on Royston Road to the northeast of the city centre. Others include owl and bat boxes, wildflowers and orchards.

The request for swift bricks atn the £100million jail came from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

But while the move has been applauded for effort, the declining numbers of swifts and tendency to fail to use new sites, may mean it could well be too little, too late.

Last September’s State of Nature Scotland analysis, which warned of a wildlife crisis with one in nine species at risk of becoming extinct, highlighted swift numbers along with curlews and lapwings had plunged by more than 60% since 1994.

The fastest fliers on earth, they have become victims on two fronts: the loss of the flying insects they feed on while in flight and the modern efforts to upgrade houses and new house styles, which have removed the nooks and crannies which once gave them access to nest sites.

The prison move, however, is among a raft of new efforts across the country aimed at protecting nests, creating new ones and monitoring swift numbers.

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In Edinburgh, declared the nation’s first ‘swift city’ in 2020, teams of volunteers have been building swift nest boxes: 180 boxes and swift bricks have been installed at key sites and, for the first time, five swifts fitted with GPS tags to study where they forage over a two-week period.

In addition, 17 swift volunteers have been trained to scour planning applications to look for new build projects and property renovations, which could provide opportunities to lobby the city council to encourage builders to introduce swift boxes or bricks.

Known as RSPB Swift Casework Volunteers, they have so far targeted a dozen proposed developments in Edinburgh recommending swift bricks be installed.

Six applications have been approved by planners with the fitting of swift nesting bricks added as a condition.

Similar ‘swifties’ in Glasgow have targeted almost two dozen planning applications calling for more than 1000 swift bricks to be fitted, with eight developments so far on board.

And in North Ayrshire, a team of volunteers is monitoring applications with one so far approved.

Others are expected to be recruited in coming weeks, while the charity’s nationwide Swift Mapper enables anyone to upload sightings of swifts using the website or mobile phone app, and zoom in to see where swifts have been spotted. 

In Dennistoun, Glasgow, Clare Darlaston is an original ‘Swiftie’ who first began campaigning for the birds through her group, Concern for Swifts Scotland, more than two decades ago.

Once a regular, thrilling sight, she says the birds are now a rarity and the plight of the swift is worse than she ever feared.

“They are an urban bird, you would see them all over the place,” she says.

“But I noticed fewer and fewer of them. It was the 1990s and thought then that we should be doing something.”

Their speed, incredible journey, life span – swifts can live up to 20 years and pair for life – make them enchanting birds, while their preference for tall buildings to nest in meant they became familiar visitors to some of the city’s most dense housing estates.

“Swifts are not a birdwatcher’s bird,” she adds. “You don’t put on your green wellies, get your golden labrador and your binoculars and go to the countryside to see them.

“You could step outside your own front door in Castlemilk, Balmulloch, Milton, Drumchapel, Barlanark and they would be there.

“They are the people’s bird.”

She fears the opportunity to act came and went years ago, when their decline was not fully recognised.

Swift bricks are one way of providing nesting space for swifts (Image: RSPB)

“The latest challenge has been the demand for external insulation panels to be applied to existing properties, referred to as Deep retrofit,” she adds. “These panels completely cover the external walls and hence the gaps used by swifts.

“If you block off a nest and put a nest box even just two or three inches away, the swifts will not go there. They are very site specific.

“Putting up nest boxes, or swift bricks, is the easiest option for humans, but the most important action for the retention of swift colonies is the conservation of existing sites.”

Scott Shanks, RSPB Conservation Officer for Central Scotland suggests one way to lure swifts to new sites: “You can play the calls of swifts using a little mp3 player with a speaker in the nest box, which chicks might recognise as a great place to nest.”

But crucial is ensuring occupied nests are protected, he adds.

“We want volunteers to look for swifts and to identify nest sites.

“The birds return and it’s heartbreaking that their nest has gone.”

Some areas are taking positive action. In 2020, rangers at Balmoral installed nine swift nest boxes on the north side of the castle and attempted to play swift calls every evening to attract the birds.

And in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire Council fitted 18 swift nesting boxes at three blocks of flats in 2022 and saw seven occupied last spring.

Swifts captured flying over homes in Edinburgh (Image: Scott Shanks (RSPB))

More will now be fitted at other sites.

Elsewhere in the north east, ‘Swiftie’ Cally Smith of Huntly Swift Group – NES Swifts, has been keeping watch on swifts for more than a decade.

“You don’t have to be a scientist to see so much is declining.

“Climate change and what’s happening to nature can be overwhelming, but when we talk to people about swifts and trying to help them, it feels like it’s something we can all do.

“We are losing nesting sites faster than we are able to put in new ones and it would be so much easier if rules surrounding new buildings stipulated to put in swift bricks.

“Do they work? There’s a chance they might, so why the hell not try?”

Record swift sightings on the RSPB Swift Mapper here