Swifts live almost entirely in the air. They eat, drink, sleep, mate and gather their nesting materials on the wing, fly thousands of miles across the world, navigating their way around storms, never lighting on tree, cliff or ground, until they return home with the summer. Sarah Gibson has written a fascinating story of discovery, exploring what is known about these mysterious birds, their ancient ancestry and how they have been regarded through history. But the swifts are in real often unintentionally, we are sealing our homes against wildlife of any kind. Cracks, gaps and crevices which for thousands of years have offered nesting space in buildings, are being closed off, while new housing rarely offers entry holes for nesting birds. Loss of breeding places is considered to be a significant factor in the steep decline of these birds over the last twenty years.
Thankfully, there are people in the UK and across Europe striving to ensure a future for swifts. Their actions and stories are woven into the narrative, demonstrating how change is brought about by passionate, determined individuals, whose actions show that everyone can do something to keep these superb birds screaming through our skies.
Sarah Gibson works for Shropshire Wildlife Trust, an environmental charity, as Press Officer as well as Editor of the members’ magazine. She also frequently writes nature note columns for local magazines and newspapers.
Sarah has travelled across Europe watching swifts and meeting experts and key researchers along the way. She organises swift walks in her home town, advocates for awareness of their plight and wills them to take up residence in the boxes she has put up for them around her house.
A lovely book, a gift from someone who knows how much I love these screaming, bug-munching, itinerant sky-knives. A mixture of personal reflection, natural history and case studies, ranging far afield as do the swift’s themselves. I learned a lot I didn’t know about them - and learned that we have only quite recently come to understand them and their lives as well as we do. For centuries, common thinking was that they hibernate rather than migrate (which would make them the only birds ever to have done so). From Gibson’s first story of how she tried in vain to care for an injured swiftling, the book looks at the birds and - as the title intimates- the people who love, study, and try to protect them. It ends, appropriately for the time I finished it, reflecting on how the bittersweet disappearance of the swift’s in late summer and hope for their return is part of why we love them so.
(3.5) We first noticed the swifts had returned to Newbury on 29 April. Best of all, we think ‘our’ birds that nested in the space between the roof and rear gutter last year are back. We’ve also installed one swift and two house martin boxes along the wall from the corner, just in case. Swifts are truly amazing for the distances they travel and the almost fully aerial life they lead. They only touch down to breed and otherwise do everything else – eat, sleep, mate – on the wing. I skimmed this book over the course of two springs and learned that the screaming parties you may, if you are lucky, see tearing down your street are likely to be made up of one- or two-year-old birds. Those tending to nestlings will be quieter. (They’ll be ruthless about displacing house sparrows who try to steal their space, so we hope the questing sparrows we saw at the gutter a few weeks before didn’t get as far as nest-building.)
Beaks agape, swifts catch thousands of insects a day and keep them in a bolus in their throat to regurgitate for chicks. The sharp decline in insect numbers is a major concern, as well as the intensification of agriculture, climate change, and new houses or renovations that block up holes birds traditionally nest in. There are multiple species of swift – in southern Spain one can see five types – and in general they are considered to be of least conservation concern, but these matters are all relative in these days of climate crisis. Evolved to nest in cliffs and trees, they now live alongside humans except in rare places like Abernethy Forest near Inverness in Scotland, where they still nest in trees, in holes abandoned by woodpeckers.
Gibson surveys swifts’ distribution and evolution, key figures in how we came to understand them (Gilbert White et al.), and early landmark studies (e.g. David Lack’s in Oxford). She also takes us through a typical summer swift schedule, and interviews some people who rehabilitate and advocate for swifts. Other chapters see her travelling to Italy, Switzerland and Ireland, the furthest west that swifts breed. If you find a grounded swift, she learns from bitter experience, keep it in a box with air holes and give it water on a cotton bud, but don’t feed or throw it up in the air. To release, take it to an open space and hold it on your hand above your head. If it’s ready to fly, it will. The current push to help swifts is requiring that nest blocks or boxes be incorporated in every new home design.
This is a great source of basic information, though some of the background may be more detailed than the average reader needs. If you’re only going to read one book about swifts, I would be more likely to recommend Charles Foster’s The Screaming Sky, a literary monograph, but do follow up with this one. And soon we’ll also have Mark Cocker’s book about swifts, One Midsummer’s Day, which I hope to get hold of.
One of my favourite things, if not the favourite thing about a UK summer, are the swifts flying through the sky with their “screaming” calls. It’s always enjoyable to look up and see them. This year has been a little more difficult with the relatively late Saharan sandstorm knocking many off course and leading to lower numbers, but anyway I digress. This book is a fantastic read even if it is at times depressing, though more in a nostalgic melancholy way. The author’s enthusiasm for swifts really shines through, and the book is packed full of information and incredible photos. I have discovered a lot from this book and will definitely come back to it often. Now time to be a little melancholy at the fact the swifts will be leaving for the year soon.
An essential book for anyone who loves Swifts, a bird so evolved for doing what it does best (flying long distances at high speed) that it would never need to land again after fledging if it wasn’t for the business of raising chicks. The fact that Swifts sleep and eat on the wing for two years after leaving the nest - without ever landing (almost can never land, as their feet are too far back to support them on solid surfaces) was the second thing that grabbed my imagination about them as a child. The first thing was seeing their aerial displays as they rush around, screeching like banshees, feeding on hatching insects over open water (while I was fishing). How anything can fly at 70 mph horizontally (and much faster when diving) in a group without colliding used to amaze me.
The book is written by a fellow amateur enthusiast who does whatever she can to help conserve this amazing species. There are no long-winded, ‘popular science’ theatrics in this book. It’s a book written by an ordinary person for ordinary readers, about ordinary people helping an extraordinary species. And it is written to help educate and conserve, not for money or fame. And it doesn’t disappoint. I now know a lot more about Swifts, especially the five varieties other than the common swift (which is the type that visits and breeds in the UK every summer after wintering as far south as Mozambique). And I know more about what I can do as an individual to help these birds. I also know a lot more about the untold number of people worldwide who are doing whatever they can to protect the species from habitat destruction by money-grabbing building developers, local governments and logging companies. Yes: logging companies, because though loss of nesting sites (the nooks and crannies in our buildings) is an obvious and well-known problem for the Swift, it is the massive destruction of forests in Africa by logging companies (and the resulting loss of the flying insects that are the only things eaten by Swifts) that is most putting their survival at risk. And that is the hard thing about this book, and about the many other books being written about wildlife in the 21st century. For every story of hope, there is a story that will make you despair about our own species. Eg this one about the town of Caceres in Spain:
“… attitudes of local politicians towards the environment. Each of them tries to outdone the others in terms of their antagonism towards environmental protections, which they see as obstacles to progress. He points towards a distant mountain, partially obscured by a thick plume of smoke. Controversially, planning permission was granted for a huge biomass factory and the filters that could have been installed were deemed unnecessary. He shakes with fury while taking about it.”
(NB whenever you see the word ‘biomass’ from now on, substitute the word ‘trees’, and you start to see another scandal hiding behind words).
But stories that make you angry notwithstanding, if you love birds and especially Swifts then you will love this book.
I listened on Audio after hearing Sarah interviewed online. She inspired me to want to read her book and I was not disappointed . Its worth a good solid 4 stars. The chapters cover the lifestyle, breeding, how far they travel, how not to help them if you discover one. And also where to locate them in Europe and the world. They travel millions of miles on the wing without stopping , mate, feed,both themselves and young without landing. Also how they are being attracted to buildings with swift boxes, as man is again stopping them from nesting as all the exterior nooks and crannies are filled in by us to keep warm. I would urge you to read or listen, thank you Mary for educating me.
I deliberately began to read this just as the swifts arrived over Herefordshire and almost managed to finish it as the final few left for Africa last week. A brilliant book researched through reading, travel and her own interaction with swifts near and eventually in her home. May the abundant screaming flocks of these amazing birds soon be restored to our skies through the efforts of people like her, the other swift activists she met in many countries and indeed all of us. We hope to have swift boxes on Hereford Cathedral soon!
Swifts are among the most aerial of all birds. When not on the nest, they spend virtually all of their time in the air. Swifts from Europe and China migrate to Africa where they rarely touch down.
Few swifts now nest in natural habitats in Europe and Britain; they have adapted overwhelmingly and very successfully to human architecture.
The short stocky humerus or upper wing bone provides the strength required to beat their wings quickly and strongly. An early ancestor of the swifts and the hummingbirds, the 52 million year old Eocypselus rowei, shows the strong upper wing bone that allows the flight characteristics of each.
Swifts are the fastest birds in level flight, attaining almost 70 miles per hour. Normal flight speeds are 30 to 40 miles per hour. At a speed of 30 mph, a swift would cover 225,00 miles in a year.
Swifts fly at night and are able to sleep in one half of their brain at a time.
Swifts mate in the air - the only bird to do so. Nest materials are acquired in flight; therefore only materials light enough to be lofted high into the air are used. The fine materials are held together with the bird's saliva.
The high concentration of saliva in some nests make them an attractive basis for soup, especially popular in Asia. Sales of swift nests account for 5 percent of the GDP of Indonesia - $4 billion per year. In order to generate these volumes, concrete nesting houses are built.
In Italy, towers are built for swifts from which a portion of the chicks are harvested for food. In medieval times, sparrow pots were used to provide nests for both sparrows and swifts, the pots having access holes for taking chicks.
Swifts gather 300 - 1000 insects at a time, returning to the nest with a ball of insects in their throat. The insects caught are large in variety, including thrips, flies, aphids, beetles, spiders, moths and mayflies. It appears that they are able to distinguish between hornets and hoverflies.
Very wet periods cause insects to stay low, starving the swifts. During such periods, they sometimes form temporary roosts, gathering in protected areas in buildings. Prolonged wet periods may cause the birds to return to Africa early.
Swifts are parasitized by a specific insect called the swift lousefly (Crataerina pallida). The pupae of this large insect are often found on chicks, but do not appear to have a significant effect on their growth.
Much of the book is devoted to the author's travels visiting swift nesting areas throughout Europe and Britain. She highlights those persons that have worked hard to assist the swifts by installing nest boxes and sound systems to attract them to the boxes.
I saved this book for the season of swifts and I'm glad I did as I could read whilst listening to the screeching birds fly past each evening. Alas, it doesn't seem like a vintage year for them in West Sussex but there's a good number of local birds still present. I liked the authors narrative, easy-going and humble, writing as an observer and swift enthusiast (or as she might say, a swifting person) rather than a self-proclaimed expert. The first half of the book focuses on the literature - what has been written and researched is disseminated in easy to follow passages about swift distribution, evolution, natural and anthropogenic history, life cycle and threats. The second half of the book is more a story of their status in various European cities and a study of those people who dedicate countless years of their lives to this wonderful bird and a late call to arms in terms of ensuring their future in an ever changing world. The latter half was the more enjoyable aspect of the book for me with many heart warming instances of people giving up parts of their homes, much of their time and their care to protecting swifts against a difficult backdrop of relentless development and the blockage of their historical nesting sites and the myriad of issues along their migration routes.
The book is factual with no over the top personal sob story to gain reader interest as can sometimes be the case in this genre such as a 'how swifts saved me' type narrative and it is all the stronger for it. Its value is primarily in being informative and because it is about the most impressive of all birds I enjoyed every page. What is remarkable is that we are still graced with these birds at all. 70% insect declines across Europe, the efficiency drive to and apathy around removing their homes, even in breeding season, and an ever harder migration. The summer sky wouldn't be complete without swifts, far too few people realise that it seems - seeing them return is like Christmas Day or a Birthday. A joy we should all cherish. Thanks to this book and efforts of other like-minded swifting people, a few more hearts and minds may be opened to the wonder of these birds, a few more swift boxes put up and more voices may well speak up for nature. It's a lovely book and I recommend reading it underneath skies full of swifts.
Well, what a fascinating subject is the life of the swift, but boy, this was so hard to discern through the effette and tedious turn of prose that this author had. Thankfully, the birds and their staggering lives on the wing could not be totally concealed this author's frankly god awful style and that's why this gets three stars - it would have been a lot less if her subject matter had been more prosaic. Take, for example, an early chapter where she gets out her giant bird book and drearily works her way through each of the swift families, what they look like, where they live, drone drone drone. Then there's a whole chapter regurgitating the contents of David Lack's book about swifts - not exactly new and original content. Then the rest of the book was her randomly meeting people around Europe who do good things for swifts - all well and good, but the book echoed with silence as to how swifts live their lives in Africa where they spend most of their lives. Despite this book, I have linked up with a local swift group and am looking to fit some swift boxes to my house and looking forward to the prospect of some 'bangers' next year.
This is an amazing book, well researched and full of the latest information about a bird that it would have been all to easy to overlook and never understand the many challenges it is still facing. In order to survive and continue rearing it`s young, the swift has required intervention from a global network of swift enthusiasts who monitor it`s progress, educate people about the necessity to provide alternative nesting sites such as nest boxes or swift bricks, if the holes the birds have previously used for their nesting sites have been deliberately blocked or covered over, This is particularly the case when old buildings are renovated, or new blocks of flats are being built without provision for swifts to nest and rear their young. The more I find out about these amazing birds, the more I appreciate how unique they are and the dedicated network of conservationists who seek to ensure their survival wherever in the world they are threatened due to human iintervention, climate change, or a lack of suitable nesting sites.
thoroughly enjoyed! i feel like gibson covers a lot of information in a relatively short read, intertwining this with a biographical style. she manages to cover both her own relationships with swifts as well as describes meeting others helping recover the swift population. i found this aspect rather hopeful and can appreciate the section on how to care for a swift if you find it injured! moreover, it was interesting to read where the swifts in cambridge typically go, alongside other areas which gibson highlights have a higher population of swifts. overall, it was encouraging to see the efforts people are putting in around the world to assist the survival of these birds from switzerland, to my village outside of cambridge to northern ireland!
Whilst the content of this book was very interesting I felt it was a little too long. There were a lot of background details that I felt was unnecessary and detracted from the enjoyment of the book. Sarah is obviously passionate about swifts and their conservation and this comes through very clearly throughout the book and her points are well made. If we don't look after the swift population then we risk losing it forever.
I browsed through this book rather than reading it from cover to cover....fascinating details about this amazing bird; I borrowed it from the library as there were 3 copies on the shelf! We do have colonies of swifts locally, not on my immediate ‘patch’ but in Ripley, a village in N Yorkshire, and I think in Knaresborough too. Apparently there is a Swift Group now in Knaresborough who have put up some Swift boxes - hopefully successful.
My local Swifts arrived a week early this year, which inspired me to read this book which I think I bought from Arne RSPB over a year ago. I just saw a review which said they couldn’t finish it as the book was too depressing. It is very realistic about the status and future problems for Swifts and other birds, but there is a lot of hope in the descriptions of the good work going into understanding and helping swifts. Lots of good references too.
A fascinating read - you can really feel the enthusiasm Sarah has for her subject. Sometimes a little repetitive however the projects people are taking on to save the species or secure them against environmental threats was really interesting. And great to read with the context of the local setting!
Very informative and I learnt a lot about these beautiful birds. I certainly won't be throwing a Swift up in the air to try and get it airborne!! I have many happy memories of watching these screamers racing around at breakneck speed.
Decided to bump up to 4 starts. Definitely preferred to last swift book I read. So many dedicated swift people it is inspiring if (like most natural history/environmental books) a little depressing at times. But very interesting and engaging read on the whole.
I wrote a mich better review but then the Goodreads app spontaneously closed & lost it. So briefly: at times surprisingly uninterested author, sometimes rude, samey advice & viewpoints, pictures could have been placed better & of more of the species of swift.
“There is a particular call that the male makes, seemingly to advertise to passing females that he is a good catch. Two or three staccato bursts of sound tell her: ‘I have a nest! Follow me!’”
I liked it! Its a solid 3-stars, could've been a bit more interesting, but ultimately a satisfying read that brought me into the wonderful world of Swifts.