I haven't seen any swifts locally this summer. In previous years you could always spot a fair sized group near HOP station albeit with numbers noticeably down last year.

If numbers are down it is difficult to know the cause. I suppose the fad for loft conversions can't have helped but migrating birds have also been under pressure in their wintering grounds for years.

I don't know about the Swifts but loft conversions are noisy to construct and ugly to look at. So many houses ruined by them

Most likely pushed out by the rather large parakeet population.

Though I've also spotted fewer parakeets recently! Saw a few swifts at the weekend however...

Glad you have spotted some hoona. I haven't seen any swifts yet but it seems they may be late this year:
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150423-...s-are-back

It seems there is a general downward trend in numbers and loft conversions may well be partly to blame.

Londondrz, very amusing. Parakeets do not eat flying insects :-).

Apparently there are a few reasons for their decline, pesticides reducing insect numbers, building methods reducing nesting spots. You can put nest boxes up under your eaves if you've got the right conditions.

Did anyone else see the delightful Great British Garden Watch recently? A guy played a CD of swift calls very loudly out of his bedroom window to attract them, apparently it really works. Not sure how my neighbours would feel!

I haven't seen any in this area, just out at the wetland centre in Barnes.

I'm pleased to report that I saw the first two swifts of the summer flying between the houses at sunrise on the 8th and many since! We live in Forest Hill so I don't know why sightings seem so scarce in our leafy neck of the woods or if they're incredibly localised? Incidentally, three days later I observed a flock of swifts plus a mini murmuration of starlings & a kestrel flying in the direction of the fire station.

On another nature related note, on Sunday there was a bat flying right past the window at dusk. Fabulous!

I saw some screaming around over Dacres Road last week.

It is good to hear that they are around. It must just be the group that we used to have in our street is absent which is a shame as I prefer that sound of summer to the chimes of the 99.

On the plus side I have seen more house sparrows this year and heard the Green Woodpecker almost every day until recently.

Presumably having summoned the rain the yaffle felt able to stop calling?

We had Swifts for about 40 years, until 3 years ago when we had a plague of Starlings that got to their old nesting place a few weeks before them. We haven't seen them since.

I will admit I don't know if they are swifts or swallows etc, but saw quite a few (20+) flying around last night near Blythe Hill

Swifts usually make a shrieking noise as they fly.

In that case they were swifts

There were half a dozen flying around the Cranston road area last night.

Have seen loads on Lowther Hill in Honor Oak, first ones spotted about three weeks ago. There was a cloud of them on Duncombe Hill as I was walking home this evening.