Swift project stretches to Edzell

The success of a Kirriemuir project to protect numbers of aerial acrobats that spend their summers in Scotland has inspired conservationists to extend the reach of the initiative.

Swifts arrive from their wintering grounds in Africa for just over three months each summer and are a familiar sight in towns and villages in evenings when they gather together in large flocks, flying at speed around the buildings where they nest, before ascending to sleep on the wing.

The remarkable birds also eat and even mate on the wing, landing only to raise their chicks.

However, Scotland’s swift numbers have plummeted by more than 60% in the last two decades, with nests lost due to over-zealous renovation and demolition and a changing climate.

Kirrie Swift Conservation Project, run by Tayside Swifts, has made a positive effort to bring numbers back up by increasing local awareness of the species and leading a project to provide nesting boxes in parts of the newly-revamped town centre.

Tayside Swifts is now running a mini-project in Edzell in which Daniele Muir from Perthshire Wildlife will lead a swift guided walk, from 8pm, on Sunday July 2, meeting outside the Panmure Arms.

The walk will last around one and a half hours and is free with no booking required.