Save our Essex Swifts

Protecting and supporting the recovery of Swifts in Essex

Welcome to the official home of Swifts in Essex!

This website has been created for people living across Essex and elsewhere who are interested in Swifts and committed to their protection and recovery. It aims to:

Raise awareness of Swifts and their decline in Essex and the wider UK

Provide information and advice on how we can all support the protection and recovery of Swifts in Essex

Promote initiatives and projects leading to an increase in the population of Swifts and nest locations in Essex

Celebrate this iconic bird and “keep the skies alive”!

Acknowledgements .... "Save our Essex Swifts" would like to sincerely thank the following:

Kaarin Wall for designing the logo for this website and other "Save our Essex Swifts" communication materials

Matt Turner from Essex Birdwatching Society for allowing use of his photo taken at Ardleigh Reservoir in Essex

Martin Abbess from Cambridgeshire and winner of the BirdGuides "photo of the week" for 20th July 2026 for allowing use of his photos of Swifts

Sandy Swifts for allowing use of their image to illustrate the Common Swift section

Louise Bentley from Bolton and Bury Swifts for allowing the use of her photos to illustrate the Swift rehabilitation section

The numerous Swift groups up and down the UK who provided inspiration

Please note that this website is best viewed on a desktop PC or laptop PC.

“But when eve shines lowly,
And the light is thinned,
And the moon slides slowly
Down the far-off wind,
Oh, then to be of all the birds the Swift”

Wilfred Owen
“The Swift" (1916)