It's National Swift Awareness Week!

How to take part in the Biosphere. Darllen yn Gymraeg.

For many people the arrival of swifts in our skies is what kicks off summer. Travelling about 1,500 miles from Africa to the UK each summer, these birds can remain airborne nonstop for 10 months, only landing when they return here to nest in May. By late July they are off.  

In Welsh, the swift is commonly known as Gwennol Ddu (literally ‘Black Swallow’) but its distinct screeching call and tendency to nest in old buildings has got it the other name of Gwrach y Eglwys, or Church Witch. They were once a much more common sight in our skies than they are now.

Distinguised from the slightly smaller swallows and house martins by its dark underside and long scythe-shaped wings, swifts have seen a drop by 76% in Wales since 1995 (North Wales Wildlife Trust), making it on to the red list for endangered species in 2021. This is in part due to the loss of nesting sites because of modern building practices that don’t leave cavities or gaps for entry, and also because of a reduction in insect numbers.

This Saturday marks the start of national Swift Awareness Week (28th June – 6th July), with events taking place across the country to talk about these incredible birds. This year the Dyfi Biosphere is also taking part via our citizen science project Screams and Streams.

Screams and Streams runs in partnership with two community groups, the Dyfi Biosphere Swift Project and Lab Dŵr Dyffryn Dyfi, seeking to understand if there is a clear relationship between the survival of the common swift and the health of our rivers.

To do this we need the help of people across the Biosphere, starting now. You can join in by getting out in your area to survey and report sightings, active nests, and screaming parties (when about 10 or more swifts flock together and make their iconic screeching call).

How to Survey Swifts S&S Eng & Cym.pdf

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Sightings can be reported through the SwiftMapper’ app or via the COFNOD project ‘A Swift Recovery’.

You can also join one of the many swift events happening during Swift Awareness Week:

·       Sunday 29th 3pm-4:45pm – Screams and Streams swift talk and survey: Llanbrynmair Community Centre

·       Monday 30th Starting at 7pm – Talk by Elfyn Pugh: ‘Masters of Flight - The Life of the Common Swift’: Followed by a walk to local nest site. At the Owain Glyndwr Institute (Free entry) in Machynlleth

·       Tuesday 1st Starting 7pm – Group swift survey at Borth, meeting outside Star of the Sea – contact bryn@biosfferdyfi.cymru or just meet us there

·       Wednesday 2nd 10am-4pm – Screams and Streams at Machynlleth Market: Learn about the project, how to help swifts and join our swift box making workshop

·       Thursday 3rd Starting 7pm – Group swift survey walk from Dinas Mawddwy to Minllyn and back, meeting outside Llew Coch – contact bryn@biosfferdyfi.cymru or just meet us there

Find out more about the Screams and Streams project, events and how to get involved with swift surveys or water testing here or by visiting our Facebook page, Biosffer Dyfi Biosphere.    

You can also help spread the word using the hashtag #SwiftAwarenessWeek on social media.