Nature makes a Swift return to Argyll

Before coronavirus restrictions were introduced, Argyll Bird Club provided monthly field trip outings around mainland Argyll led by experienced bird watchers.

With most bird surveying suspended as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the club is relieved that it has now chosen a species which can be surveyed from home and within the government advice.

Swifts are slightly larger than swallows and have an all dark plumage with only a short forked tail. They feed on flying insects and spend most of their life in the air (including when they sleep), usually coming down to earth to breed. They are fast fliers often chasing one another over buildings when they give a screeching call.

Swifts arrive back in Argyll in early May and breed in some of the towns, villages and buildings in Argyll. They spend around three months here, leaving early-mid August, to winter in Africa.

The British Trust for

Ornithology’s Breeding Bird Survey indicates that the population of Swifts in Scotland has declined by around 60 per cent since 1995. A similar decline has taken place in England and Wales. The reasons are not fully known but are believed to be related to changes in insect numbers and a lack of nesting sites as buildings are modernised.

Argyll is at the north-western limit of the world range of Swifts. Their distribution and numbers in Argyll is not well known and the purpose of the Argyll Bird Club Survey is to try to find out the size of the breeding population and where they remain.

If you have a swift nesting in your building, or near you, or would like to take part in this survey further information is available at http://argyllbirdclub.org/argyll-surveys

For more information about Argyll Bird Club, contact the Argyll bird recorder Jim Dickson by email at Argyllbirder@outlook.com