Scream of Swifts

Made by Patrick Amber, Jo Veal and people at community art workshops in Abbeyfield House, Pitsmoor, Sheffield.

Swifts are incredible birds. They emerge from their nests and can fly for up to ten months without stopping. To achieve the amazing transition from a chick to an Olympic flyer, the young swifts do ‘wing press-ups’ to develop their wing strength before leaving the nest. To fuel their flight, swifts eat up to 100,000 insects per day. Swifts migrate 3,400 miles twice a year, from Africa to the UK and other destinations, at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. They mate for life, returning to the same site each year.

These swifts were made by creating willow frames, covering them in wet strength tissue paper, then painting them to either create a life-like or folk art swift. Initially, one swift was created for the Sheffield Swift Network to raise awareness of the diminishing numbers of swifts – the flock soon grew!

You can read more about the Scream of Swifts project here: www.patrickamber.co.uk/screaming-swifts

Swifts are on the red list of endangered species, needing urgent action. If you would like to find out more about swifts and what you can do to help, visit: www.sheffieldswiftnetwork.org