Volunteers are creating a haven for a summer visitor - the swift.

Swifts travel 14,000 miles from South Africa to Hexham every year, with the same mating pairs returning to the same nesting site each time.

Recognisable by their crescent-shaped wings and high, circling flight, swifts can be seen skimming Hexham rooftops and emitting their distinctive high-pitched screech in groups known as screaming parties.

Since 1995, the number migrating to our shores has declined by 60 per cent due to loss of nesting sites and declining numbers of insects.

Many buildings possess nooks and crannies that swifts favour for nesting.

Volunteer Kate Chaplin said: "When we renovate these buildings and fill in these holes, the swifts can’t find their nest sites. They can’t breed and so their numbers fall."

Founded in 2020, Hexham Swift Heaven conducts surveys to identify nesting locations and monitor swift numbers.

The organisation has already constructed and distributed over 70 swift boxes.

Andy, a founding member of the group, said: “They make perfect neighbours – they are not messy birds, and they are quiet inside the nest. It’s a privilege to share your home with them!”

Anyone with a swift nest in their building or has 'screaming parties' on their street should contact: hexhamnature@gmail.com.