This year we spent a lot of time talking about and looking for swifts. We've been spreading the word about these amazing birds around the area and training lots of people to spot them and their nests. 

Swifts are only with us for a very short time - mid-May to the start of August - and raise their chicks here. They nest in holes in our roofs and gutters so of course their nests are at high risk from repairs. 

In order to protect our local swifts, we organised a big swift nest survey across EH5 and EH6 and were able to identify many new nests. As these are all in council buildings, we've been working with the council to ensure that the swift nests are kept whilst the buildings are repaired and upgraded. Thanks so much for everyone who helped out! 

We're hoping to do a similar project next year so please get in touch if you fancy being involved.

Swifts eat tiny flying, or floating, creatures high up in the air. Each swift needs around 100,000 beasties a day! Often these are tiny spiders floating using strings of silk, or flying aphids and midges.

The catastrophic drop in these wee creatures means that all our bug-eating birds are going hungry and fewer chicks survive in the nest. 

Feeding swifts is more complicated than putting up a birdfeeder, but is good for all other wildlife too!

1. Plant a diversity of flowering plants, perhaps wildflowers and leave some of your grass long

2. Use no poisons or sprays in your patch - watch the wee beasties move in and allow the aphids to breed (eek!)

3. Sit back and watch the birds and other insects munch on your patch - if you're lucky, you may see some float on up to swift level and make it into someone's lunch.

You'll notice that the council have been leaving some areas of long grass in Granton - these patches are shown to have masses more life than short grass! In autumn 2025 and spring 2026 we added more wildflowers to these patches to make them more interesting and colourful. Thanks to Action Earth for funding us!