How the Species Volunteer Network is supporting volunteers and communities to help save Swifts.
One of our most iconic birds, Swifts are in trouble and urgently need our help to stop them disappearing from our skies forever. Volunteers form a key part of our plan to save Swifts by taking direct action, raising awareness, and working with their local communities to ensure that they have safe places to nest. This Swift Awareness Week, an initiative begun by the Swifts Local Network in 2018, we hear from Jamie Murphy, Will Bevan, and Shannon Plummer who are supporting volunteers helping to save Swifts in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, and Belfast.
Swifts return to our skies every spring after travelling thousands of miles from Africa where they spend the winter. They prefer to build their nests in buildings across our towns and cities, but over time there have become fewer places they can use as nesting sites. This is likely to be a key reason why their numbers in the UK have decreased by more than a half since 1995. The Species Volunteer Network (SVN) is an RSPB team which supports volunteers working to save some of our most threatened species across England and Northern Ireland, including Curlew and Corncrake. The team is now involved in supporting and setting up teams of Swift volunteers in several locations, working in collaboration with RSPB Local Groups and the long established Swifts Local Network (SLN) to enable us to have the greatest possible impact for Swifts.
In Birmingham and the Black Country, we have set up a network of 'West Midlands Swift Champions' who are volunteering their time to support Swift conservation where they live. This new team have been seeking opportunities to monitor Swifts, involve their communities with Swift box projects and respond to planning applications so local developments are as Swift-friendly as possible. The RSPB are providing materials, guidance and support to make this easier, but ultimately, it’s all about people taking action where they live.
So far, Swift Champions have linked up with RSPB Solihull Local Group, who already have an established Swifts and Sparrows project and are now working together to grow and strengthen connections. They have also started working with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council to find opportunities for Swifts alongside their Net Zero Neighbourhoods project which is facilitating low carbon retrofits on homes in Brockmoor.
The RSPB’s reserve at Sandwell Valley is proving to be a great demonstration site as Swifts have returned again in 2024 to nest in the bricks and boxes on the Visitor Centre, which is furnished decorated with Swift-shaped collages by children from Hamstead Junior School.
After some collaboration and knowledge-sharing with Jamie in the West Midlands, we started recruiting for the 'Greater Manchester Swift Champions' in February this year and the uptake has been incredible. We now have a team of 21 volunteers, with some in multiple roles, including two volunteer coordinators who are supporting the management of the volunteer team and helping to develop the project.
There is already a lot of local action for Swifts in the area, and we hope our new Swift Champion team can link up with existing volunteer groups so that we can have the most positive impact. We have surveyors out monitoring for Swifts in their local areas and engaging with residents, uploading their records to Swift Mapper and adding to our knowledge of how Swifts are faring across the Greater Manchester area. This will allow us to more easily target our efforts to protect nests, create new nesting sites (as Swifts like to nest in colonies) and engage with local communities.
We also have a team of caseworkers responding to planning applications to ensure that buildings provide enough safe nesting sites for Swifts, as well as a team of community volunteers who are beginning to organise a wide range of opportunities for the public to get involved with Swift conservation.
This is just the beginning for the Manchester Swift Champion team, and we are hoping it will continue to grow and develop over the next few years.
The Species Volunteer Network was set up in Northern Ireland in 2022 and it was agreed that Swifts were one of the key species that needed more conservation action.
Some action for swifts was already being carried out across Northern Ireland by RSPB NI, local groups, and the independent Northern Ireland Swift Group, but even so, more and more co-ordinated actions was needed.
We came together to understand what work is in progress and what more is needed, and to agree on the collective change we want to see for Swifts. Essentially, we want:
People to understand the needs of Swifts and take action to help them, such as surveying Swifts and putting up boxes.
Swift nest provision is standard in all new developments and redeveloped buildings and key existing sites are protected, and
The Group to be working well collaboratively to deliver the outcome.
To provide more resource to help us achieve this change, the Species Volunteer Network has now recruited two Volunteer Coordinators. They will help us raise awareness throughout Swift Awareness Week 2024 (rspb.org.uk), survey key sites, develop guidance for councils, and ultimately create a Swift Champion Network to enable greater support and action for Swifts across Northern Ireland.
There are so many ways you can get involved and take action for Swifts! Our Swift Starter Pack - has lots of ideas on how you can help, no matter how much time you have. You can also submit your sightings of Swifts using Swift Mapper, which are vital for our conservation efforts!
If you want to get involved with Swifts in your local area or are looking for advice, please go to the Swifts Local Network homepage. There are also loads of events going on across the country for Swift Awareness Week, so see if there is anything near you!
If you want to get involved with the Swift Champion team in the West Midlands, you can apply for the Swift Champion or Volunteer Coordinator roles available at the moment! You can also contact Jamie at jamie.murphy@rspb.org.uk
If you want to get involved with the Swift Champion team in Greater Manchester, please contact Will at william.bevan@rspb.org.uk
If you want to get involved with the project in Belfast, please contact Shannon at Shannon.plummer@rspb.org.uk
If you are not in any of these areas but would like to get involved with Swifts, you can email speciesvolunteernetwork@rspb.org.uk or check out the volunteering opportunities page!
