Life up in the air

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust’s Frieda Rummenhohl looks at the life and plight of a favourite summer migrant

- Frieda Rummenhohl

What would a British summer be without them? They are the last to arrive and the first to leave, yet they have a special place in our hearts. They are incredible aerial acrobats and spend nearly their entire lives on the wing – some will not touch down for years. Swifts are born for a life in the air, feeding in flight by catching aphids, spiders, beetles, moths and even dragonflies. They drink, bathe, mate and even sleep on the wing. Swifts spend most of their lives in Africa and migrate thousands of miles to England for just six to eight weeks to breed before making their way back in late July. Our British summers can be rain-soaked and even cold but they have one advantage for swifts – long daylight hours that allow these birds to hunt for 16 hours a day.