Hampshire Swifts - an update on the Winchester Cathedral project

Birds on the Brink were thrilled to get some positive news and feedback from Hampshire Swifts’ Tim Norriss.

A while back, Birds on the Brink awarded a grant to the Hampshire Swifts group to support the installation of specially designed Swift Nestboxes in Winchester Cathedral.

Photographed elsewhere in Hampshire, this nesting Swift illustrates the rudimentary nature of the nest itself: little more than a shallow depression in debris comprising what appears to be a mix twigs, straw and feathers, with layer upon layer having built up over the years. Photograph ©Paul Sterry/Nature Photographers Ltd

The project was delayed because of Covid restrictions and the 20 boxes were not installed until August 2020, too late for that particular breeding season.

In May 2021 the call-player was turned on and Swifts were seen investigating the openings, attracted by the calls. In early November, Tim and Roger Maynard went back to inspect the boxes to see if there was any indications they had been used.

The Swift nestbox installation in Winchester Cathedral. Photograph ©Tim Norriss

Success in the first year! One box (number 20) had a completed nest and from the marks on the bottom of the box it was clear that young had fledged from it. In addition there were signs that other boxes had, at the very least, been investigated with some signs of preliminary nesting attempts in others.

Box number 20, containing the end-of-season remains of a Swift nest. Photograph ©Tim Norriss

As well being a Swift-enthusiast, Tim is also a moth expert and he was able to recognise that several species of micromoth had also taken up residence in the nestboxes. These included the Common Clothes Moth Tineola bisselliella, doing what its larvae have evolved to do in nature: eat organic debris including bird feathers.

For more information about the project, read the article posted by Hampshire Swifts