Swift
Surveying
Help us locate where Swifts are breeding, so we can protect and grow breeding colonies
We need your help to survey for Swifts
Surveying for Swifts is a vital element of our work. By finding where Swifts are already nesting, we can work to protect nest sites and grow colonies by erecting nestboxes or installing Swift bricks in areas where they are most likely to be used. Spotting Swifts flying into nestholes is difficult, but fortunately Swifts perform noisy and easy to spot flights around nesting areas that are called "screaming parties". That's primarily what we want you to identify and record, and it is really easy to become a Swift Surveyor!
How to help
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install the Swift Mapper app on your phone. It's easy to search for, or use the links here.
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Sign up for an account on the Swift Mapper app. You're now ready to record survey results.
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Use the app to record when and where you see Swifts in screaming parties - make sure you know the difference between a screaming party, and other Swift behaviours - see below for more information.
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A good time to survey for Swifts is on a warm, still, summers evening.
What is a Screaming Party?
In areas where Swifts are breeding, Swifts form what are known as "screaming parties", where 2 or more Swifts fly rapidly, in a group, at rooftop height while calling loudly. Note that this is different from seeing groups of Swifts flying in different directions very high up, or hawking for insects over water. Screaming parties are easy to identify and indicate that Swifts will be nesting nearby.
A Swift screaming party:
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Two or more Swifts
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Flying at rooftop height
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Chasing each other in a group
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Making loud and frenzied screaming calls
Not a Swift screaming party:
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Swifts flying high up
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Flying in different directions
- Quiet, calm calling only
Recording nest sites
It is also useful to identify Swift nest sites - where you see a Swift flying up to a building a disappearing inside a nestbox, Swift brick or hole in the building. However, this is difficult to spot, particularly as Swifts may only visit their nests every 30 to 60 minutes making them easy to miss. If you have time to survey for Swifts, identifying which streets have screaming parties is a far better use of time and gives us the valuable survey information we need. But if you do identify where Swifts have a nest, you can add that to the Swift Mapper app as well.