Late in 2024, Louisa, from Leamington, got in touch to express her concern about the fast decline in swifts and to chat about what she could do about it.  Following a couple of house meetings, the second of which was attended by Abbie, the West Midlands Swift Coordinator for the RSPB, who just happens to be the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Youth Committee Fundraising Ambassador, Spa Swifts was set up with the mission to see swift numbers expand locally. 

Swifts usually arrive in the UK during May, swooping and diving as they consume around 20,000 insects such as aphids, flying ants and mosquitoes daily.  Fossil records indicate that swifts may have been around for 49 million years longer than human beings, but we are causing their population to plummet. Numbers have declined by over 60% nationally — and a shocking 96% in neighbouring Gloucestershire.  Fiercely loyal to their nesting sites, swifts can live for over 20 years.  Unfortunately, home improvements and housing developments have destroyed and not replaced nesting sites.  We can do something to change this! 

Spa Swifts hand delivered 30 postcards to MP Matt Western’s office, handwritten by residents at ARC’s recent Wilder Patches event, requesting he support mandating swift bricks in new builds, an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.  

Spa Swifts wants to make Leamington a ‘Swift Town’ along with several other towns and villages in Warwickshire, by working with local councils, residents and wildlife groups to erect numerous swift boxes on houses, and to work towards ‘swift bricks’ (along with hedgehog highways) being included in local planning conditions for new developments.  They have recently written to Warwick District Council, urging them to include swift bricks in the Local Plan for all new builds. 

At a house meeting with a couple of new members who signed up at the Wilder Patches Event, we went to admire 11 swift boxes already put up on one street, with more households keen to have one on their house, but not confident of putting it up themselves. We are just looking out for a window cleaner or roofer with a long ladder to help put them up and some funding to pay for the service. As swifts are very social, it will be fabulous to have so many boxes in close proximity. 

We are putting Spa Swifts in touch with Harbury Swifts to share notes, while online discussions are also taking place with other interested parties in Warwick, Stratford District and Kenilworth.  We hope that concerted and joined up action will contribute to the long-term recovery of swifts in Warwickshire.

If you would like to get involved, please get in touch by email at joanne.harper@wkwt.org.uk . We are particularly keen to hear from residents, schools or businesses who regularly have swifts flying around their neighbourhood, where swifts are more likely to nest.