Swift numbers are in decline – the latest figures suggest they have declined by 40% in the past decade. Swifts are now on the red list of Birds of Conservation Concern (BoCC) and are classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List assessment of extinction risk for Great Britain.
Several different factors are causing their decline:
- old buildings are being renovated and so as they return to the same nesting areas they will no longer be able to access their old nests and then they have a very short time to find a new nesting place
- houses are being constructed in a different way so they have fewer nesting places
- the climate has changed so effecting insect numbers and the timing of insect emergence (phenological mismatch)
- weather conditions may not suit Swifts (e.g. too wet, too cold)
- there are fewer insects to feed on (Buglife research suggests a 78% decline in insect numbers in the past 20 years)
