THEY’RE back! Have you seen or heard them yet?

Scimitar wings flickering overhead, small groups careening and chasing over the rooftops, their shrill calls heralding the summer to come.

The Swifts are here again, back from a long season cruising over tropical African forests. Ted Hughes expressed the wonder of it all:

‘The Swifts materialise at the tip of a long scream of needle…

They’ve made it again, which means the globe’s still working’.

Having raised young before, these early May arrivals are expecting their nest site - a dark crevice in a wall or under eaves - still to be there for them.

Hoping that since they vanished last August, there have been no repairs or improvements to prevent them starting over again.

By late May, numbers rise as the middle generation returns to search out their own nest site, ready for next year.

Then through June, last year’s youngsters join the evening screaming parties.

They’ve not touched solid ground for 10 months and still won’t, since as dusk gathers they circle high up into the twilight to sleep on the wing.

With only one third the number in the UK compared to 30 years ago, our Swifts are in deep trouble.

The loss of nest sites, usually inadvertently as homes and other buildings have roofs repaired and other improvements made, is a significant factor in this dramatic decline.

Swifts’ long-term survival depends on protecting these traditional nest sites.

This doesn’t mean that building repairs can’t take place: work can be planned with the short breeding season between May and August in mind and access to long-established nests maintained afterwards.

If you’re aware of Swifts nesting in your home or nearby, or of nest sites under coming threat, please contact Edward Jackson at [email protected] for advice.