Hampshire Swifts
The Common Swift Apus apus is a rapidly declining species in the UK with a reported decline of over 50% reported in the last 23 years.
Copyright P. Sterry/NPL
Swifts are Amber Listed in the UK’s Birds of Conservation Concern and their future survival seems to be reliant on groups such as Hampshire Swifts who are working tirelessly to raise awareness, influence planning policy and installing swift boxes throughout the county.
In May 2020, Birds on the Brink awarded a £300 grant towards the installation of 20 nest boxes inside the tower of Winchester Cathedral.
The application proposal describes the project: It is proposed that twenty bespoke Swift nest boxes will be provided to fit neatly behind the louvre on the south side of the tower to the left of the clock face. Colonisation of the boxes can be encouraged by playing Swift calls during the breeding season. This can reduce the time it takes to attract the first occupants. A small call player with a timer and 1” speaker will be installed in the tower to attract the birds.
Hampshire Swifts acknowledge that finding suitable buildings for swift box installation is becoming increasingly harder as old buildings are renovated or replaced with new builds. However, churches and cathedrals provide great opportunities and Hampshire Swifts has already had success: This is a tried and tested system for encouraging swifts to nest in churches and there are many examples of successes in East Anglia using this method. Here in Hampshire we installed ten boxes in April 2019 behind the louvres of Ringwood Parish Church and have similar projects in progress at Fordingbridge, Ropley and two other churches in Winchester.
We look forward to monitoring the progress of the Winchester Cathedral project and hope that it won’t be too long before the scream of swifts can be heard in the heart of Winchester.
For more information about Hampshire Swift please visit their website here.