The Common Swift, Apus apus, is a small migratory bird which arrives in Ireland from southern Africa in May and departs by mid-August. Swifts pair for life and are also site faithful, returning to the same nesting site each year. They are mostly an urban species, preferring to nest in crevices in old buildings and in the eaves of houses, or in natural gaps in stonework. As a colonial species, they will usually nest in groups or colonies. Swifts spend most of their life in the air, where they will sleep, drink, eat and mate, landing only to return to the nest.
In recent decades, Swift numbers have been in decline throughout many parts of their range, giving much cause for concern. In Ireland, the recent Bird Atlas 2007-11 shows there has been a 26% loss in range since 1970 and a severe decline in abundance since 1990 (Balmer et al., 2013). The Countryside Bird Survey (CBS) monitors trends in relative abundance of birds in Ireland and likewise, has shown a decline of almost 58% in the breeding population between 1998-2016, and one of the largest declines in distribution of any species, almost 53% from 1972-2016 (Lewis et al., 2019). As a result, Swifts are now of conservation concern in Ireland and are Red listed on the Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland (Gilbert et al., 2021).
- Twenty-two localities (villages and towns) were surveyed.
- Swifts were present in eleven localities and confirmed nesting in nine villages and towns.
- A total of 199 Swift nests were confirmed across Co. Monaghan.
- Monaghan, Carrickmacross, and Ballybay are the county strongholds for Swifts.
- Residential or commercial properties accounted for 63.5% of nest locations, while 36.5% of nests were in religious or public buildings.
- Monaghan has both suitable nesting and foraging habitat for Swifts. However, Swifts are no longer present in some localities or at critically low levels. Swifts may disappear locally if action is not taken.
- Key actions to be taken – install nest boxes at suitable locations, and nest bricks in new developments through the planning process. Caller systems need to be used to attract Swifts to these sites. These initiatives will work best if the local communities are involved.