Carry on screaming: celebrating the return of Swifts to Lewes

This year saw an early return of Swifts to Lewes – and lots of activity in both previous nesting locations and new ones, as Audrey Jarvis of Lewes Swifts Supporters reports. Plus, following last month’s Swift-Friendly Town Season at the Climate Hub, some top tips to help Swifts (and other wildlife) thrive in Lewes and beyond.

This year, the warm and dry weather encouraged the Swifts to return to Lewes a little earlier than usual, with the first Swifts seen on 21 April over The Avenue. By the end of the month, we had found that three Swifts had already returned to their previous nest sites in King Henry’s Road, in upper Western Road, and at the rear of the High Street.

By 14 May, we had recorded 34 occupied nests. These Swifts will be the ‘first wave’ of experienced breeders who, barring accidents, return to the same nest and mate with the same partner every year. Unusually, we saw a great deal of ‘banging’ against potential nest spaces and boxes during early May, accompanied by loud screaming, suggesting that some Swifts had been displaced from their previous nests through renovations or the unfortunate placing of scaffolding that prevented access.

Most of our Swifts prefer to nest under the eaves or in some other nook or cranny of a building. Although we have been busy installing almost 200 nest boxes around Lewes to increase the potential nest spaces available, we know we have to be patient while Swifts learn to accept the nest boxes. We are thrilled to see some of them in use this year for the first time and, unusually, a double box that we installed in Rotten Row in March 2025 was occupied by Swifts by 13 May! De Montfort Road is fast becoming something of a “Swift Street” with four occupied boxes there and one at the rear of Western Road that faces onto it. On 23 May, hearing loud calling from two of the boxes, we looked up and saw the face of a Swift peering out from each one!

By the beginning of June, the number of nests had doubled to 68 occupied nests. We began to notice ‘changeovers’ at the nests in the evening, where one Swift enters the nest and another one leaves a few minutes later, suggesting that they may be taking turns with incubating eggs. Sure enough, on 26 May, our nest cam showed the first egg in the nest space under the eaves of a house in King Henry’s Road.

Tips for our Swift-Friendly Town

We have all noticed that there are many more insects around this year – and this is very good for Swifts! The main focus of our ‘Swift-friendly Town for Nature Recovery’ season at Lewes Climate Hub has been to encourage and share ideas for improving our environment for Swifts and other wildlife.

Here are some of the top tips from our visitors, speakers, and guests:

Planting a native tree and wildflowers or making ponds, compost heaps, and log piles, will all help our insect and invertebrate population to recover from the estimated 63% decline between 2021 and 2024.
Help House Martins to continue to be able to make their nest cups by placing a builder’s tray full of water and mud in your garden – and it will help out our bees and other insects too!
For a healthy pond replace any non-native plants with Hornwort. It is a natural oxygenating plant that competes with non-native species, removes algal blooms, and keeps the water fresh.
Avoid cleaning out your pond in the Autumn or Winter because the animal and plant life cannot replenish itself at that time of year. If you have a build-up of silt, it is better to take out one bucket every day during the late Spring or Summer, so the wildlife has time to recover.
Help insects during dry spells by making Hoverfly lagoons to provide egg-laying space for Hoverflies, and insect drinking stations to benefit smaller insects. You could join the Buzz Club project and contribute to their research: https://www.thebuzzclub.uk/hoverfly-lagoons
Connected green spaces are best for promoting biodiversity. Become part of the Lewes Mosaic for Nature by adding your garden, planter, or even a window box full of wildflowers: https://www.railwaylandproject.org/lewes-mosaic-map
Wash your clothes in a laundry bag to prevent microplastics entering the water and soil systems, being swallowed by small animals such as insects and snails, then being ingested by other larger animals, including humans.
Close your curtains when you turn the lights on to keep the skies dark. This helps Swifts, other migrating birds, bats, and moths to navigate safely.
Don’t use pesticides!
If you have a patch of grass, keep one section of it cut to a close turf to benefit those solitary bees that “mine” into the ground to build their nests, such as the Ashy Mining Bee.
Include some early flowering plants such as Wiilow, Blackthorn and Primrose – insects emerging earlier in the year due to climate change need a source of food.

Learn more and get involved with Lewes Swift Supporters here – and on our Facebook page.