The Common Swift population in the UK has been declining for many decades. This site is dedicated to increasing the awareness of swifts in our communities, wherever you live, plus how you can help their population to recover to healthier levels. There are also more specific details applicable to the Hythe area and surrounding districts.
The first few pages will help you to understand their lifecycle and why I think its important for humans to nurture a closer relationship with these birds. Also information on how you can take part in the project and how to enjoy the spectacle locally or when you are away from home.
At the time of writing (spring 2026), this project has a team of one! If this project interests you, I need your help to extend it! (See 7. How can I get involved? from the menu, but keep reading for now while your tea is still warm!)
You will probably be wondering where the catchy project name comes from! The collective name for swifts is a “scream”, coming from their high pitched shrill and chatter as they fly low and fast over the rooftops in a group, known as a “screaming party”. I’ve extended this fun theme through the site 🙂
The information within this website is aimed at informing you….inspiring you ….and enticing you, to the pleasure of engaging with the most incredible wild creature living within our community, and currently virtually invisible to the majority of people in most areas of the town.
I have met and read accounts from many swift supporters around the country, and I am amazed at how they literally change their lives; The engagement, sharing stories, and real excitement in looking forward to each new summer with incredible passion, which I have not come across before.
Hence this opportunity for you to learn and make swifts a part of your healthy summer lifestyle!
The basic aim of our endeavours will be to help our local swifts to breed more prolifically in our local area. They have been a cultural and sensory feature of our summers for years, but there are less of them around these days and they are at risk of disappearing in many places, which could just as easily be here.
I’m going to tell you many secrets about these unusual birds, pique your interest, and suggest how you can help our local swift community to grow in Hythe, and beyond.
Having lived here for over ten years without consciously seeing any, this was an incredible moment, as one actually flew over my garden. It must have been a messenger!
This way to ➡️ 2. Behind the screams
