Monday (7th June) will be World Swift Day. Now in its third year, World Swift Day is a day to celebrate these incredible birds that spend most of their lives in the air.
Swifts fly thousands of miles to the UK every summer to breed; sleeping, eating and even mating on the wing.
There have already been many sightings on the Isle of Wight this year, with birds arriving in early May and expected to stay until July/August.
Swifts Without Frontiers
Swifts Without Frontiers, who founded World Swift Day in 2019, invites NGOs, municipalities, individuals, companies, schools and any collectivity caring for Swifts to celebrate that day by communicating about Swifts (whichever species) and by organizing events.
Wight Swifts
Here on the Isle of Wight we have an excellent group on Facebook called Wight Swifts. Run by Isle of Wight naturalist and BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) Regional Rep, Jim Baldwin.
Residents on the Island post when and where they have seen swifts, as well as other related information of interest.
40 seconds of swifts
If you haven’t had the chance to see swifts this year yet, this video from last summer might bring a bit of sunshine to your day – listen until the end for the wonderful screeching from the skies
You can find out loads more about these incredible birds on the RSPB Website. And if you do spot swifts this summer, join the Wight Swifts group to share your lucky news.
Image: Jon Bunting under CC BY 2.0
