Entry 2 - Swift Conservation

Swifts originally nested in tree holes but have nested almost entirely in our buildings for centuries and have become dependent on us for their survival. This Swift is inspecting an old cottage roof to find a nesting space under its traditional tiles where three pairs went on to breed. Swift numbers, though, have fallen by 50% in the last 20 years in the UK, partly as the supply of suitable nest sites has fallen across the UK as old roofs are renovated and entrances are sealed, while newly built properties rarely offer nest space.

Fitting nest boxes of many kinds in churches and on many other buidings old and new, has really helped swift populations recover in several UK towns and villages. Watching these remarkable birds whizzing to and from their nests at high speed is a wonderfully rewarding sight, though challenging to photograph!

A screaming party of Swifts flies around the church bell tower at dusk in Worlington, Suffolk in a spectacular, noisy ritual that highlights a notably conservation success. Swifts almost completely disappeared from the village ten years ago as the last cottage where a few pairs still nested was due for demolition, but the colony survived and has increased by moving to the village church where over 25 pairs now breed every year.

This sudden upswing is thanks to a local swift charity installing over 40 nest boxes behind the window louvres since 2009, and bird ringer Simon Evans has recorded up to 70 chicks being raised in them in good summers recently.

Judith Wakelam, who raised the alarm about the decline of swifts in Worlington and enlisted the help of her local swift charity, hand-feeds orphaned Common swift chicks from across East Anglia with insect food in her home in the village.

Judith releases around fifty orphaned Common swift chicks she has fostered and fed with insects at her home every year when they are ready to fly. Conservation, much of it done by homeowners and local swift groups as well as large wildlife charities, really can make a difference to the prospects for threatened wildlife.