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Swift decline highlighted at Hampton Court Palace

RSPB A swift in flight against a blue skyRSPB
The migratory birds usually arrive in the UK from early May onwards

A display highlighting the dramatic decline of swifts - the "symbol of summer skies" - will feature at this year's Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) which puts on the annual festival, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) have created a show garden focused on the species.

The birds, which usually arrive in the UK from early May, spend almost all their lives in flight – eating, drinking, mating and sleeping on the wing.

They depend on healthy insect populations and suitable nesting sites for their breeding season in the UK, conservationists say.

Getty Images A swift in flight against an orange skyGetty Images
Swifts have a call that sounds like a high-pitched scream

How to identify a swift:

  • Dark, sooty brown but can look black against the sky
  • Pale patch on the throat, but this is often difficult to see in flight
  • Long, pointed wings held in a boomerang shape
  • Short, forked tail which can be folded to a point
  • Bullet-shaped head
  • A call that sounds like a high-pitched scream.
Getty Images A swift in flight against a grey skyGetty Images
The species is red-listed due to its decline since the 1990s

The species has seen numbers plummet by 68% between 1995 and 2023, data indicates, and they are "red-listed" over concerns about their survival.

Diverse, insect-friendly planting would support the birds and other wildlife, and nesting sites, such as "swift bricks" can be introduced into buildings to give them somewhere to breed.

Plants in the swift garden include field maples, common limes, teasel, catmint and devil's bit scabious, which all support and attract insects.

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