Swift Action Needed For Swift Recovery

The Common Swift, Apus apus, isn’t soaring like it should be, in fact their numbers have dived by 30% in recent years. They have now landed on the Amber list as birds of Conservation Concern, and need our help.

A destruction of nest sites is the suspected cause of the decline, in the form of demolitions, renovations and roof repairs. It is estimated that 16% of nest sites are currently under threat. An analysis of current known nesting sites show them to be present in half of houses built before 1919, 25% of houses built 1919 to 1944, and 24% of public buildings (such as schools). 

What Can We Do?

Leave existing nest sites undisturbed

• It is already illegal to disturb a Swift nest site during the breeding season, and doing so may result in significant fines.
• Swift nest sites are returned to year after year and therefore valuable. With numbers declining their nest sites have become even more precious. In addition to this, Swifts are picky about their lodgings, preferring to nest near other Swifts.
• If you know of a local party of Swifts you could find out where they are nesting and try and raise awareness, especially if they are nesting on a building under threat of repair or destruction.
• If nest sites are to be destroyed nest spaces can be incorporated into new builds or retrofitted on renovations and roof repairs. Internal nest spaces are more effective than nest boxes. Nest boxes and Swift CDs are available from Jacobi Jayne & Company at www.jacobijayne.com or call 0800 072 0130. Nest Boxes are also available via the RSPB website.

Report information on screaming parties, existing nest sites and new nest sites

• Only data about breeding is needed, such as existing nest sites, low flying screeching parties and new nest sites. Birds that are very high in the sky, feeding over water bodies or away from villages, towns and cities may have travelled some distance and may not be locally breeding birds.
• This information will add to a growing knowledge base that will better aid our efforts to protect this species and prevent further decline.
• To find out more or to submit information please follow the instructions on the RSPB Help us help Swifts website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/thingstodo/surveys/swifts/ or you can call 01767 693690. The information gathered so far by the RSPB shows a useful but incomplete picture of Swift nesting sites and sightings in Wiltshire. Click here to download the map of Swift nesting sites in Wiltshire

How To Identify A Swift

You can spot a swift by its dark brown colour (often black against the sky), pale throat, long narrow wings and slightly forked tail. It’s easiest to see them at dusk or dawn leaving a nest site. You can also look for low flying, screeching groups that indicate they are breeding nearby.

Swifts make for pleasant guests, here’s why:

• Their nests are made almost exclusively within small openings within walls and roofs, and are therefore unobtrusive and out of sight.
• Despite their piercing, screechy calls on the wing, they are quiet when nesting. 
• They leave few if any droppings outside their lodgings, which is always a good trait for a neighbour.
• They spend most of their life on the wing; even feeding, sleeping and mating! They nest only to raise their offspring, incubating their eggs for 19-25 days, and the parents itch to be off again, doing press-ups whilst in the nest.

They can be confused with Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins. There are however key differences, for example if you spot a bird entering an obvious ‘outside’ nest or perching on poles and fences then it is certainly not a Swift. For more information on identifying Swifts and similar birds see the link to the RSPB website, below.

More Information

To find out more or to submit information please see the RSPB ‘Help us help Swifts’ website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/thingstodo/surveys/swifts/ Alternatively you can call 01767 693690