Standing with Swifts
Sustainable Kirriemuir’s Action for Nature group are Welcoming Back Kirrie Swifts!
Collaborating with the Kirriemuir Scouts, Cubs and Beavers we’ve been ‘Standing with Swifts’ to celebrate the return of these iconic and endangered birds.
On Saturday 7th June, Kirriemuir Scouts, Cubs and Beavers, along with Action for Nature volunteers paraded from the Scout Hall to Kirriemuir Town Square for a celebration of these outstanding birds. They carried ‘swifts on sticks’ which they’d made in the run up to the event, and two beautifully designed and painted banners featuring the Kirriemuir skyline.
After ‘planting’ their swifts round the Peter Pan statue, and sharing information about swifts with spectators and supporters, they returned to the Scout Hall for some well deserved juice and (swift) biscuits. Amazingly, some of the swifts themselves were flying around above as the celebrations took place; they must have known it was World Swift Day!
During the project, the Scouts also created a series of posters with facts about swifts on them, and beautiful swift bunting, which is now being displayed in the local shops around the town centre. If you are in town throughout June, please look out for them and let us know which fact you found most interesting!
Did you know…
Swifts always return to the place of their birth – so Kirrie is their home and where they have their young.
Have you spotted any swifts this season yet? If you don’t know what you’re looking for, or you just want to celebrate these beautiful birds with us, book onto our Swift Saunter walk! It’s happening on the evening of Thursday 3rd July to mark National Swift Awareness Week. You’ll have the chance to learn about Kirrie Swifts, see their nest sites and hear about their screaming parties. Please book a space if you’d like to join us.
Our volunteers are a talented bunch; one of our volunteers has written a beautiful poem about our swifts.
What You Can Do to Help our Swifts
- Log any sightings of swifts, their nests or nest boxes on SwiftMapper.
- Put up a nest box or install a swift brick.
- Increase pollinator planting in your outdoor space – more food for insects means more insects for swifts to feed on!
- Join our Action for Nature group to help us take more community action for nature.
Are you a community group or business who would like to join us in taking a stand for swifts? We have created a Kirriemuir Swift Charter and we’d love you to sign up to it, to show your commitment to supporting our swifts. Email us if you’d like to be acknowledged as a supporter of our charter.
