In the last 25 years the number of Swifts in the UK has plunged by 60%. They are now on Red Lists for the UK and also Europe. We have observed this first hand on the Bee Sanctuary, where sightings each year are becoming rarer. So we have teamed up with the RSPB Swift project, and organised to mount 12 Swift Nesting boxes on the houses of the new development that face the Bee Sanctuary. Residents are delighted to take part in this project, and hopefully we can establish a breeding colony that will go from strength to strength in this area, where there is a plentiful supply of flying insects, and also water to drink. The RSPB is supplying the Swift boxes, and the developer has kindly agreed to put them up.
Swifts are Summer visitors arriving in April and leaving in August/September when their young fully fledge. Those young birds face a daunting journey, return to their winter feeding grounds 6000 miles away in S.E. Africa. Their ‘screaming’ calls are the voice of summer, which we can restore.
