A crowd funder to save Ealing's Swifts has gained extra urgency as the urban species was added to the UK red list for endangered birds.

Swifts were recently moved to the red list as a species of highest conservation concern in the UK.

A campaign to save Ealing's Swifts, launched by Ealing Wildlife Group, hopes to help protect their habitat and reverse the decline of nesting sites in the borough.

The aim of the crowd funder is to buy and erect 150 new nest boxes to boost existing and attract new colonies of Swifts and provide site boxes on public buildings across the borough to engage the public with nature conservation.

They also hope to design and install permanent education and information signage to showcase the value of Swifts and urban wildlife.

There is just under two weeks left and if the campaign raises half their target amount of £5,000 then Ealing Council will match this and the project will go ahead.

Conservationist and Chair for Ealing Wildlife Group, Sean McCormack told Nub News more about the campaign and the fascinating urban bird.

"There's no better sign of summer than the sound of Swifts arriving in our skies each May all the way from Africa," said Sean.

"These incredible birds are aerial acrobats and spend almost their entire life in the air, only ever landing on solid ground to nest and raise their young.

"We're very lucky in Ealing to have them breeding in some of our homes and buildings under the eaves but sadly their populations locally and across the UK are in sharp decline.

"It's thought they've dropped in number by about half in the last 25 years.

"Mainly down to modern building techniques, roof repairs and loft renovations which mean their traditional nest sites are no longer available. 

"One really effective way we can turn this trend around is to provide them with artificial nest sites in the form of Swift boxes and bricks.

"We're really hoping that Ealing residents can help us with this so our borough can continue to welcome these unique birds for generations to come.

"The more money we can raise, the more nest boxes we can put up on schools and public buildings to teach children and adults alike how urban nature conservation right here in Ealing can produce exciting and important results for a globally threatened species." 

Swift facts by Ealing Wildlife Group:

• The swifts closest genetic relations are the hummingbirds
• They can sleep on the wing
• As a group, swifts are the fastest of all birds in level flight
• They spend just three months of the year in Britain, arriving in early May and leaving in early August, this is the shortest of any of our breeding birds other than the cuckoo.
• Historically swifts nested in holes high in large trees
• They lay just two or three eggs in a clutch and only attempt to rear a single brood in a year.