Birds on the Swifts’ route

An excellent and very immersive day-long workshop led with Jo Veal at the Millenium Gallery, Sheffield. As a follow-up to the success of the ‘Scream of Swifts’ exhibition in the gallery’s Avenue, we wanted to facilitate a free, public workshop where people could explore the migratory route of swifts from sub-Sahara Africa to Sheffield. This was made possible by securing funding from the Sheffield Church Burgess Trust and the support of the staff at the Millenium Gallery and Sheffield Museums.

Here are just a few of the birds that swifts may see on their journey. (Flying at speeds of over 100 kph, they might not see them all!)

With a large painted map showing the swifts’ migratory route, heaps of cardboard and boxes of oil pastels, children and adults drew and made puppets of hoopoes, hornbills, lilac-breasted rollers, tragons, turacos and speckled tinkerbirds (to name but a few!) Seventy or so birds were drawn throughout the day!

What a delight to share our fascination and celebrate the wonder of birds through art.

If you’d like to find out more about swifts and why they need our help, check out Sheffield Swift Network on Facebook and their website: https://sheffieldswiftnetwork.org

The ‘Scream of Swifts’ exhibition at the Millenium Gallery. On public display daily (except Sundays) from 6th August until 15th December 2024