CALLS are being made for swift action to help save a bird.

The RSPB says swifts are vanishing from our summer skies with half gone in just 20 years.

This is because the chances to lay their eggs are being thwarted as modern buildings lack the nooks and crannies they need.

Fortunately there are ways to help. There are special swift nestboxes available, and if you’re having a building constructed or renovated, there’s also the option of the ‘swift brick’. This replaces a standard house brick and can easily be installed by a builder. Swift nestboxes and swift bricks can work especially well when put up in groups, as these birds like to be near other swifts.

Swifts spend most of their lives on the wing and only landing when it’s time to nest. After flying its nest for the first time, a young swift may spend two or three years in the air, eating, drinking, sleeping, bathing and even mating. The swifts that nest in the UK arrive here in late April-May and may spend just three months with us; soaring and swooping over rooftops catching insects to eat.

Jamie Wyver from the RSPB said: “We know how to give swifts the new homes they need – now let’s bring them back to our towns and cities."

He added: “We need local councils and developers on board as they have the power to make an enormous difference. Think of all the new building that’s going on around the UK: with a few tiny changes we could be providing millions of homes for swifts.”

The charity says just 1,000 additional new nestboxes could make a difference

Some developers are already integrating swift homes into new buildings.

Prince Charles’ Duchy of Cornwall estate has a policy of providing one swift box for every new home on average and has already installed more than 500 swift boxes in Duchy developments.

For more information on how to help visit rspb.org.uk/homes-for-swifts