S6 Swifts Sheffield

07/07/2026

Great article in the Sheffield Tribune. (Only for paid subscribers unfortunately)

Well done Sheffield Swift Network and thanks to David Bocking for raising awareness of their plight and how you can help!

"Fortunately for these birds, they have small coteries of fiercely loyal protectors scattered across this city, banded like postcode gangs against a common enemy. We have S2, S6, S7 and S11 Swift groups — plus at least three more in Walkley & Crookes, Totley, and Heeley & Meersbrook — loosely working together under the Sheffield Swift Network title.

These hard-working volunteers have spent over four years battling to save our uniquely thrilling summer visitor, whose close ancestors were gracing our skies back when a meteorite supposedly killed off the dinosaurs.

“There is nothing like them on Earth,” replies Sheffield Swift Network member Chet Cuñago, when I asked what motivated her to join the crusade. “They’re part bird, part sky. Nothing else has a life like them.”

How an army of volunteers is achieving swift results for the European swift

29/06/2026

My impromptu swift drawing event for Swift Awareness Week (27th June - 5th July) Lots of events on, find one near you on the RSPB or Action For Swift blogspot lists. Mine isn't listed yet as I only decided to do it last night, but hopefully it will be soon... it's for anyone, whether you can draw or think you can't! Any proceeds go to swift conservation (it's a free/by-donation, pay what you feel event)
https://www.ticketsource.com/sarahhannis/how-to-draw-a-swift/e-rpqamz

26/06/2026

"...while the swift has not had much help from government, it is receiving ever more support from community groups and local people.

“The numbers of swift groups and events keeps growing. The interest and enthusiasm and care for swifts is growing exponentially,” he said. “Every year more people get involved and take action.”

This is wonderful (on the main page of the Guardian today) but it does remind us that the government chose not to mandate swift bricks in new builds in England.

Swifts get very little protection by our government; we have to do it ourselves.

Conservationists emphasise importance of protecting nesting sites used by ‘strongly faithful’ red-listed species

23/06/2026

Absolutely wonderful (if hot!!) evening with a group of local swift fans! Thanks to the 15 or so who braved the heat to listen to me and Mel rambling on about swift facts and swift conservation!

We walked around and had a good old nosy at many houses with swift boxes, bricks and natural nesting swifts (with the homeowners' permission!).

The swifts performed right on cue. We saw fly bys, entries and exits and were never far from the sound of their cries ❤️

And I think friendships were started as we got to know our neighbours. We even had an impromptu garden tour!

So lucky to live in this fantastic corner of Sheffield. Thank you so much for your support!

We'll have to do it again!

16/06/2026

Great work down in Kent! It's so heartwarming knowing how many people care about these incredible but vulnerable birds!

An absolutely brilliant day in Deal!
I went to help out "Walmer and Deal Action for Swifts" to get some serious work done.
The team was ready for action!
Together, we managed to install a whopping 15 swift boxes to help give these incredible birds a safe place to nest.
To top it all off, we had dozens of swifts screaming overhead all day long—almost as if they were flying over to say a massive thank you! 🐦✨

A huge shoutout to everyone involved for such a rewarding community effort.

16/06/2026

Swifts are one of our most loved birds, but they are in serious dec...

16/06/2026

Sorry for the AI image but the sentiment is true. Swifts enter their nests through such tiny cracks...you might never know you had an endangered bird nesting in your home until you had roof works and it was too late...

THE HOLE IN YOUR WALL WAS NOT EMPTY.
IT WAS THE ONLY DOOR MY CHICKS KNEW.

You may look up at an old house and see only a crack.

A gap under the eaves.

A small dark hole in brick or soffit.

Something easy to seal.

Easy to repair.

Easy to make neat.

To us, it is a defect.

To a swift, it can be an address remembered across continents.

I am a common swift.

I spend most of my life in the sky.

I feed there.

Drink there.

Sleep there.

Travel there.

Cross countries there.

Cross deserts there.

Cross seas there.

And after all that distance, I return not to “a roof.”

Not to “a street.”

Not even to “a house.”

I return to one opening.

One narrow entrance.

One exact little darkness where my chicks wait.

They do not know another exit.

They do not know another sky.

If that hole is sealed while they are inside, the wall does not simply become tidier.

It becomes a closed mouth.

A blocked future.

An adult may keep circling.

Calling.

Landing on the brick.

Clinging near the place where air used to be.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Because instinct does not understand fresh mortar.

Because love does not know what “renovation” means.

And inside, the chicks do not cry to the whole street.

They wait.

They trust the doorway they were given.

That is what makes this cruelty so quiet.

Please, before repairing roofs, soffits, fascias, eaves, vents, or cracks in spring and summer, check for nesting swifts.

If swifts are screaming around a building, entering holes, or circling one wall repeatedly, stop and seek wildlife advice.

Avoid sealing active nest sites during the breeding season.

Where repairs are needed, use timing and mitigation.

Install swift bricks or nest boxes.

Leave access where possible.

Because the hole in your wall was not empty.

It was the only door my chicks knew.

And after flying half the world to return,

I came home

to find that home had been erased with a trowel.