Get ready now for returning Swifts next May!

In August they migrate to southern Africa, but not long after New Year they will be on their way back, arriving here from late April. They will be looking for somewhere to nest, so let’s make sure they have a place to welcome them!

Making sure Swifts have nest-places will keep them with us.

Swifts are those exciting super-fast crescent-shaped birds that scream round our homes in the summer. They excel in acrobatic flight, and have amazing navigation skills. They travel hundreds of miles to collect insects for their chicks, feasting on aphids, hover flies, midges and mosquitoes, “Hoovering” them up as they dash through the sky.

Swift in Flight (above) courtesy and copyright of www.martingrund.de/

Swifts once nested in caves and holes in very old trees, but now they now nest only in buildings. They need open eaves, louvres in church towers, and deep holes in masonry, ideal for them to build nests in. They find places to breed in very old buildings, in pre-war council estates, and in Victorian and Edwardian terraces, yet sadly they often find themselves excluded when renovation takes place.

Swifts 26 Days Old (above) and Swift 29 Days Old (below left) – courtesy and copyright of Ulrich Tigges

It’s because of the ways we renovate our buildings that we are blocking Swifts out. They can no longer get in to breed. And new houses are built without any access for Swifts. So the population is falling, and Swifts face local extinction. It’s a very big problem, but it’s one you can help solve!

If you or your landlord plan works to your roof, and you have Swifts breeding up there, do try and make sure everyone involved follows these simple rules. It means you will have your Swifts back again, beautiful, harmless and clean birds that enliven the skies every summer day.

• Do not have the roof work done during May, June or July when the Swifts will be breeding. (Swifts have full legal protection, and interfering with their breeding would anyway be an offence).
• Do not have insect mesh fitted to the open eaves, but instead have a ventilated plywood screen fitted inside the loft at least 50cm in from the eaves to retain nesting space and protect the loft from intrusion.
• Ensure the fibreglass or rockwool insulation does not cover the Swifts’ nests; leave them space to breed.
• New house? Why not fit some commercial or DIY Swift nest boxes? The boxes usually don’t need cleaning or maintenance.

For more advice and lots of interesting information about Swifts, have a look at the London’s Swifts website www.londons-swifts.org.uk More about Swifts on grownupgreen

Article copyright Edward Mayer

Did you see our features about David Jones’ fascinating website ‘mybitoftheplanet’ through which he documents and illustrates, with wonderful photography, life in his garden? Read My Bit of the Planet – Part One (from there you will be able to continue to read part two.)

Edward Mayer - 01/11/05

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