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Swifts delayed by cold and wet springs face mounting problems as the climate changes
How is this much-loved migratory bird species faring as rising temperatures change when seasons arrive, asks ALEXANDER C LEES
A swift in flight

THE weather is warmer and the nights are lighter. What are those black, curved silhouettes looping in the sky?

Assuming you are looking at birds and not attending the World Boomerang Championships, those shapes will likely be Britain’s only breeding member of the Apodiformes (a grouping that includes the hummingbirds): the common swift (Apus apus), harbinger of summer.

Swifts getting swifter

Tailored swift bricks

Liberation webinar, 30 November2024, 6pm (UK)
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