Welcome to WingIt
You are viewing one of seven information pages that we are providing via “QR codes” at different locations across the two dales. The other six can be found at Keld Heritage Centre, Muker, the Low Row Literary Institute, the Two Dales Bakery in Reeth, the Dales Bike Centre in Fremington, and at the Arkengarthdale Hub at St Mary’s Church.
Gunnerside Village Hall is located in the heart of Gunnerside, in Upper Swaledale. Originally known as the Literary Institute, the hall was built in the 1860s and became a registered charity in 1940. In 2023, it transitioned to an Incorporated Charitable Organisation. (CIO)
The Village Hall hosts a wide range of activities for both the local community and visitors. Regular events include afternoon teas, coffee mornings, a shopping club, knit and natter sessions, yoga, adult ballet, the Thursday Ladies’ Club, craft classes, and Seedlings, a group for young children. In addition, the hall is available for hire by individuals and organisations for events, activities, and exhibitions.
The Village Hall relies on lettings fees/donations for its ongoing funding and would welcome your support/help: see the website/Facebook pages. Gunnerside Village Hall and Facebook
The Swift boxes here on Gunnerside village hall were installed in 2021. In addition to the village hall’s boxes, during 2023 and 2024 new Swift boxes were put up in Swaledale (Low Row, Gunnerside, and Muker). In 2025 two more boxes were put up in Low Row, one to add to that on the Low Row Institute, plus one other on a house in the village. The project also cleans out all the Swift boxes each spring before the birds nest; so far there is no evidence of swifts nesting in any of these boxes, but other species have done! However, it is known that it can take some time for new nest sites to be used.
About the Common Swift
Common Swifts, Apus apus, are found in the UK from April to August, and they migrate to South Africa for the winter. They are most often seen in flight, and you can see them flying in a group above Reeth and other villages in fine weather. You will hear them screaming as they swoop over the meadows as they feed. In Swaledale we usually see their return each spring from around the 16th April, which is later than for Swallows and House Martins.
What do Swifts look like?
Common Swifts are larger than Swallows and much larger than House Martins. They have a sooty dark brown plumage which looks black against the sky, curved or scythe shaped wings, a pale throat and pale underwings. Their head is short with almost no bill. Swifts have the shortest legs of any bird relative to their body size and cannot take off from the ground. Their scientific name, Apus apus, means “without feet”. They have four toes that point forward, which makes it impossible for them to perch on a wire. They have large broad mouths that make them efficient catchers of insects.
How do they fly?
Swifts spend all their time in the air, except when on the nest. They are more aerial than Swallows & House Martins, frequently flying higher than both these species. They are built for speed (they are the world’s fastest bird; almost 70 mph has been recorded). Their silhouette reveals a wide open deeply forked tail with scythe shaped wings and they fly with fast wing beats followed by long glides.
Apart from in the sky, might they be seen elsewhere?
Immature swifts spend three years in the air before landing to breed and, because they cannot perch, they are only seen flying or on a nest.
Where do they nest?
Common Swifts usually nest in colonies, in ventilation shafts/cracks in walls, under convex roof tiles, in church towers, under the eaves of buildings and in cavities in walls of buildings. Their nests are usually higher above the ground than those of House Martins or Swallows. Partners pair for life and return to the same nesting sites year after year. Unfortunately, new housing and building renovations do not always take their needs into consideration; thought needs to be given in the planning phase of any development to preventing further loss of nest sites (such as by installing Swift nest bricks and leaving crevices unblocked).
Are they declining in number?
Swifts are declining in number and were added to the UK red list for birds in 2021. Estimates for the UK suggest a 57% reduction in abundance between 1995 and 2017. One reason for the decline of Swifts is because insect populations are also declining. Insects form 100% of their diet; over 40% of insect species are threatened and some areas have experienced around a 75% loss in just under 30 years.
The reason for declines in Swift, Swallow & House Martin populations are not only due to poor food availability, but also loss of nesting sites caused by house renovations and barn conversions.
About the WingIt project
Sustainable Swaledale started the ‘Wing It’ project in 2021. Residents of Swaledale & Arkengarthdale had noticed that there appeared to be fewer Swallows, Swifts and House Martins returning to the dales each year. While a decline of these birds has been recorded throughout the UK, when the ‘Wing It’ team looked for information on their nesting locations and populations in the two dales very little information could be found.
The ‘Wing It” project has four objectives.
- To collect data throughout the summer months to identify & document birds in flight and active nest sites over a five-year period. These data help inform our project but also contribute to the wider Yorkshire Dales National Park records and national statistics.
- To support the three species by providing suitable nesting sites.
- To raise awareness & knowledge of the three species & their needs within the two dales.
- To maintain their feeding habitats through parallel projects in meadow restoration & tree planting.
The WingIt project has been kindly supported by The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund. This fund is open to individuals, businesses, community groups or voluntary sector bodies. It provides an accessible source of money for a range of projects that result in positive benefits for the National Park’s environment, economy and communities, while enhancing and conserving local culture, wildlife and landscape. www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/sdf
