Kendal Swifts

Who we are and what we do

We are "Kendal Swifts" a voluntary organisation. We aim to -


Protect our swift population by: 


Increase our swift population by:


We work with partners to campaign for the protection of swifts in Kendal and the UK.


Contact us through email, Facebook, Instagram or by using our contact form.
See our contact page for details.

Kendal Swifts volunteers at the Kendal Birdcage for Swift Awareness week, August 2024

Recording and monitoring swift nest sites

Each year we monitor nests that we know about to see if they are still being used. 

We also cover as much of Kendal as possible looking for nest sites in areas or buildings where we haven't previously recorded them. 

If you want to see if swifts are nesting near you, check this map of the houses or buildings where we have recorded swift nests.

If you know of swifts nesting in other roads or areas please email us so that we can go and have a look.

Blue dots are nest sites seen recently,  Grey dots are older nest sites, Red dots are nest sites that have been blocked up.
(The dot position is calculated by Google Maps based on the building address and is approximate)

To date we have identified over 400 swift nests in Kendal, across about 160 properties.

In July, at dusk, you have a good chance of seeing swifts returning to their nests. Here are some of the best places in Kendal to see them.

Is that a swift?

Do you sometimes wonder is that a swift?...or maybe a house martin?....or is it a swallow?  Here are some pictures that help to show the differences.

One easy tip - if you see it perching it's not a swift.  Other than when they are in their nests they spend their whole lives in the air.

Is that a swift nest?

Swift nests are very different to the nests of swallows and house martins. 

Swallows build cup-shaped nests from mud on sheltered beams or ledges, visible from the outside and often in barns. House martins build mud nests, usually under the eaves but visible from the outside, leaving a small opening at the top of the nest. 

Although swifts are dependent on finding suitable nest sites in man-made buildings we don't actually "see" swift nests at all, we just see the swifts entering them! Their nests are small cups made from feathers and plant materials caught in flight and held together with saliva. Most of the nests are hidden under the eaves. In stone-built buildings they can also be in holes in the faces of the walls. 

At Bensons for Beds in Kendal for example we have seen swifts entering nests in both the face of the wall and under the eaves.

Bensons for Beds, Longpool, Kendal, showing the year when we have seen the nests being used

What do we know about swifts?

Swifts undertake an amazing migration journey twice every year.

One Swifts Migration Journey RSPB.mp4

The adult female swift lays 2 or 3 eggs that take about 20 days to hatch.

The young leave the nest after about 40 days and fly to Africa within a few days. When they are back in the UK the following year they look for places where they could nest when they are adults.

When they are 4 years old they find a mate, establish a nest and breed. 

Each year after that they make their way back to exactly the same nest site and breed with the same mate. 

The RSPB has lots more more information about swifts.

What threats are swifts under?

There has been a worrying fall in UK swift numbers. The British Trust for Ornithology estimated that the number of swifts in the North West of England may have fallen by as much as 80% between 1995 and 2021.
The UK's main bird conservation groups regularly compile lists of bird species that are of the greatest conservation concern. A traffic light system is used where red means critically endangered. Swifts are on the red list.

Most experts think the main reasons for the falling numbers are:

Nest boxes and swift bricks

Swifts will also nest in suitably designed boxes or in special bricks that can be built into houses or extensions at the construction stage. There is more information about boxes and bricks on our How can I help page.

Clevedon Swifts on BBC Breakfast News 05-08-24.mp4