From Saturday 27 June to Sunday 5 July 2026, you can join walks, talks and events with local Swift experts and enthusiasts to enjoy watching these extraordinary birds and find out more about them.
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Swifts usually arrive in the UK from early May, enlivening our skies with their swooping, diving and exuberant cries. See our Swift migration video below to experience their long journey taken to reach our skies.
Sadly, these aerial masters are on the UK Red list due to their declining numbers here. The reasons behind this loss are complex, but there are two steps we can take to help: providing suitable nesting sites and ensuring that there are plenty of insects for them to feed on.
Have you got Swifts nesting near you? You can help by recording your sightings with the easy-to-use Swift Mapper web and app system. By helping build a picture of where Swifts are nesting, you can help Swift conservation groups target the right areas for installing nestboxes and taking action for colonies threatened by development. Follow this guide to Swift Mapper – it’s full of top tips on getting started using the app or web, along with Swift behaviours to look out for.
Swift Awareness Week events are run by independent local groups which make up the Swifts Local Network, and RSPB local groups. The details below are correct at the time of publication, but where possible please confirm with the organisers before attending.
Details of 2026 events will be available here soon. Watch this space!
Often seen flying high overhead like a fast-flying dark crescent moon. Its wings are long and narrow, and it has a short, forked tail.
Find out more about these amazing aerial birds below.
