Swift
| Irish Name: | Gabhlán gaoithe |
| Scientific name: | Apus apus |
| Bird Family: | Swift |
red
Conservation status
Conservation status
Status
Widespread though declining summer visitor throughout Ireland from May to early September.
Identification
About the same size as a Swallow, but all dark. Spends virtually all of its life airborne and never seen resting on wires, as Swallows and Martins frequently do. The weak and small feet of a Swift only allow it to cling to vertical surfaces or shuffle akwardly on the ground (at the nest). In flight, has a distinctive shape with scythe shaped wings held straight out from the body. One of the fastest flying birds in Ireland.
Voice
Most frequently heard is a high-pitched scream "srrrriii". Often given by pairs in high speed chases.
Diet
Feeds exclusively on various invertebrates (midges, flies, spiders) caught in flight
Breeding
Breeds throughout Ireland, usually in small recesses in buildings, both occupied and derelict. Less frequently in holes in trees or caves in uplands or coastal areas.
Wintering
Winters in tropical Africa. Migrants arrive from the end of April onwards and most will have departed by mid-August. A few individuals can usually be seen up until the start of September.
Monitored by
Widespread Summer visitor. Usually breeds in urban areas throughout Ireland. Population declining.
Long distance migrant. Winters in Southern Africa.
Blog posts about this bird
Swift Surveyor Signoffs
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With the Swift season all but over, our Swift team take a look back at the 2026 season...
What I enjoy most about Swift surveying is sharing my passion for these fascinating birds and watching the ripple effect as people realise how incredible Swifts are and how we can all make a difference. This is a species suffering dramatic population declines, but it is also a species that we can all help. In a time of gloomy environmental problems, it's lovely to see people becoming inspired and empowered with the prospect of creating positive change. I first became involved with BirdWatch Ireland’s Swift surveys in 2018.
The surveys aim to locate and accurately record Swift nest sites so that they can be protected, whilst also inspiring local communities to take ownership and responsibility for their local Swift colonies. It is very easy to inspire folks to love Swifts because they are such incredible birds.
I love watching Swifts and listening to their unmistakable screaming calls. I also really enjoy meeting other Swift enthusiasts. This year I was surveying beautiful County Donegal. The Swifts were quieter than usual and exhibited less social flying but fortunately they eventually gave away their nest site locations.
Surveying for Swifts has made me look at architecture in a whole new light. Rooflines, old buildings and tiny gaps are now puzzles to be solved. Most of our Swifts have started their incredible migration south, leaving Donegal behind as they journey to Africa. It is amazing to think about the distances they travel and the challenges they face.
I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who helped with surveying, shared sightings, welcomed me to their Swift colonies, or simply stopped for a chat about these wonderful birds. It was a pleasure to meet you all. Fly fast, fly high — and come back safely next spring!
Tara Adcock – Urban Birds Project Officer
The Swift season is exactly that – swift! With birds already heading south, there’s just a few late pairs left eyeing the exit to the nest meaningfully, as their chicks squabble and generally get underfoot. Come the first to second week of September though and even these late bloomers will have fledged the nest and all going well be set to depart our shores for Africa. We have been lucky enough to survey these amazing birds since 2015, starting with surveys for the Office of Public Works which we are still carrying out. In 2017, we were commissioned to undertake our first county survey, and we haven’t looked back, carrying out 28 surveys to date, with 3 resurveys. Results vary widely across the country, but one thing that holds true is the dedication and positivity shown by our fieldworkers each year, and this season was no exception. Swift surveying is a slog. It requires patience, tenacity (read stubbornness), and an abundance of good humour. But it’s also incredibly rewarding. Our surveyors work with a genuine wonder of the world – a bird which never lands except when nesting, which flies for approximately 3 years continuously, sleeping on the wing. This is a bird of legends, of myth and yet it is a real, living and breathing creature which they watch all summer long documenting its nest sites, playing an integral part in its conservation. The people our surveyors meet along the way is the other aspect which makes the Swift field season so rewarding, and in some ways, so unique. Again, this season we were so lucky to have volunteer surveyors, people providing local insights into Swift nest sites and the history of Swifts in the locality, and interested residents stopping for a chat. At a few of our sites, Swift conservation work was underway prior to the surveys. Working with these passionate individuals and groups is hugely rewarding, and allows us to support local conservation efforts. I cannot finish this sendoff without a massive thanks to Claire Goodwin, Julie Corry, and Rosaleen Dwyer of Wexford County Council, Donegal County Council and South Dublin County Council, respectively, for commissioning and supporting this work. These surveys would not get off the ground without support from Biodiversity and Heritage Officers across the country and we are tremendously grateful to them for funding these projects through the National Parks and Wildlife Services Local Biodiversity Action Fund. Now over to our fabulous Swift Surveyors…
Helen Taylor – Co. Donegal Swift Surveyor
What I enjoy most about Swift surveying is sharing my passion for these fascinating birds and watching the ripple effect as people realise how incredible Swifts are and how we can all make a difference. This is a species suffering dramatic population declines, but it is also a species that we can all help. In a time of gloomy environmental problems, it's lovely to see people becoming inspired and empowered with the prospect of creating positive change. I first became involved with BirdWatch Ireland’s Swift surveys in 2018.
The surveys aim to locate and accurately record Swift nest sites so that they can be protected, whilst also inspiring local communities to take ownership and responsibility for their local Swift colonies. It is very easy to inspire folks to love Swifts because they are such incredible birds.
I love watching Swifts and listening to their unmistakable screaming calls. I also really enjoy meeting other Swift enthusiasts. This year I was surveying beautiful County Donegal. The Swifts were quieter than usual and exhibited less social flying but fortunately they eventually gave away their nest site locations.
Surveying for Swifts has made me look at architecture in a whole new light. Rooflines, old buildings and tiny gaps are now puzzles to be solved. Most of our Swifts have started their incredible migration south, leaving Donegal behind as they journey to Africa. It is amazing to think about the distances they travel and the challenges they face.
I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who helped with surveying, shared sightings, welcomed me to their Swift colonies, or simply stopped for a chat about these wonderful birds. It was a pleasure to meet you all. Fly fast, fly high — and come back safely next spring!
Helen Taylor – Co. Donegal Swift SurveyorJulieanne Quinlan – South County Dublin Swift Surveyor
If you spend enough summer evenings looking up into our skies, you will be surprised at the birdlife above you. I spent the summer of 2026, looking upwards, searching for one of Ireland’s most iconic summer breeders the Common Swift in the suburbs of Dublin, and improving my posture along the way. Joining the BirdWatch Ireland survey team gave me the opportunity to spend the summer travelling and exploring the communities across South Dublin, searching for nesting Swifts and, just as importantly, meeting the people who live alongside them. From my perspective, what left a lasting impression was not necessarily the nest sites, but the people. Many locals were delighted to discover that Swifts were nesting in their neighbourhoods, People stopped to chat, shared stories and wanted to know how they could help, even bringing me cups of tea, homemade cake and ice-pops during the heatwave! Alot of people didn’t realise how much trouble Swifts are in. That made conversations with residents particularly important. Conservation isn’t just about surveys and statistics. It’s about getting people to notice and care for the wildlife around them and giving them the confidence to do something about its decline. Being a Swift Surveyor has shown me how important local conservation work can be. There has been so much willingness to help. Sometimes people simply need the knowledge, support and opportunity to turn that willingness into action. As the Swifts now leave South Dublin and begin their journey towards sub-Saharan Africa, I am left feeling incredibly grateful for the summer spent amongst the wonderful communities and volunteers across South County Dublin that are helping create a more hopeful and positive outcome for the future of Swifts in our spaces. Next year, when the first Swifts return, I’ll once again be looking to our cities skies, and I hope communities across South Dublin will join me in looking up, celebrating the spectacular wildlife and nature we are fortunate to share our homes with.
Jonathan Stanley – Co. Wexford Swift Surveyor
I had three towns to survey in County Wexford this summer; New Ross, Enniscorthy and Gorey. Despite my initial fears that this job would make me look sketchy, everyone who approached me was simply curious about the project. I got great support from local NPWS rangers, Enniscorthy Tidy Towns and volunteers prepared to sacrifice their evenings. Swifts are best known for their screaming calls, which are made by bangers (non-nesting Swifts that swoop past the entrance of nest sites to see if they are occupied). These screams would drift over the sun-scorched towns as I followed the sounds of the distant, swirling flocks. On some surveys I would chance upon a Swift smacking against a gutter and fumbling its way under a roof tile. On other surveys I would watch the parents attempt and re-attempt to enter the nest, tailed by several bangers. It was hard to believe that, despite travelling thousands of miles from Africa to Europe, these nests would be the only place on Earth that the Swift would land. Yet these well-hidden nests, could also be their downfall. One evening a volunteer noticed a Swift entering a nest beneath the fascia of a building in New Ross. The following week, we discovered the fascia had been replaced, the owners unaware of the nest trapped within. This really highlights the importance of these Swift surveys, as once County Councils are aware of the nests in these towns, they can make greater efforts to protect them in the initial stages of planning permission. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
A Feathered Farewell
[vc_row type="in_container" full_screen_row_position="middle" column_margin="default" column_direction="default" column_direction_tablet="default" column_direction_phone="default" scene_position="center" text_color="dark" text_align="left" row_border_radius="none" row_border_radius_applies="bg" row_position_desktop="default" row_position_tablet="inherit" row_position_phone="inherit" overflow="visible" overlay_strength="0.3" gradient_direction="left_to_right" shape_divider_position="bottom" bg_image_animation="none"][vc_column column_padding="no-extra-padding" column_padding_tablet="inherit" column_padding_phone="inherit" column_padding_position="all" flex_gap_desktop="10px" column_element_direction_desktop="default" column_element_spacing="default" desktop_text_alignment="default" tablet_text_alignment="default" phone_text_alignment="default" background_color_opacity="1" background_hover_color_opacity="1" column_backdrop_filter="none" column_shadow="none" column_border_radius="none" column_link_target="_self" column_position="default" gradient_direction="left_to_right" overlay_strength="0.3" width="1/1" tablet_width_inherit="default" animation_type="default" bg_image_animation="none" border_type="simple" column_border_width="none" column_border_style="solid"][vc_column_text css="" text_direction="default"]It feels like only yesterday that we were welcoming back our summer breeding birds. Before you know it, eggs are hatched, chicks are fledged, and our feathered friends are off again, leaving our shores. Late summer welcomes a new crowd, such as the Sooty Shearwater, Great Shearwater and the occasional Wilson’s Storm-petrel; it won't be until autumn when we see the return of our wintering waterfowl and waders. Here's our summer species sendoff and where they'll be going next. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type="in_container" full_screen_row_position="middle" column_margin="default" column_direction="default" column_direction_tablet="default" column_direction_phone="default" scene_position="center" text_color="dark" text_align="left" row_border_radius="none" row_border_radius_applies="bg" row_position_desktop="default" row_position_tablet="inherit" row_position_phone="inherit" overflow="visible" overlay_strength="0.3" gradient_direction="left_to_right" shape_divider_position="bottom" bg_image_animation="none"][vc_column column_padding="no-extra-padding" column_padding_tablet="inherit" column_padding_phone="inherit" column_padding_position="all" flex_gap_desktop="10px" column_element_direction_desktop="default" column_element_spacing="default" desktop_text_alignment="default" tablet_text_alignment="default" phone_text_alignment="default" background_color_opacity="1" background_hover_color_opacity="1" column_backdrop_filter="none" column_shadow="none" column_border_radius="none" column_link_target="_self" column_position="default" gradient_direction="left_to_right" overlay_strength="0.3" width="1/1" tablet_width_inherit="default" animation_type="default" bg_image_animation="none" border_type="simple" column_border_width="none" column_border_style="solid"][vc_column_text css="" text_direction="default"]
