Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Drop in swift numbers causes concern
Swifts are declining so rapidly in Britain that they are to be the subject of a major census.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is launching a nationwide search to identify where swifts are still seen and could be nesting. The key cause of their dramatic drop in numbers is thought to be the loss of nest sites in buildings, through property improvement or demolition.
Swifts have declined by 47 per cent since 1994, and this year have been added for the first time to the Amber List of Birds of Conservation Concern, meaning the threat to their future is considered serious.
Swifts come to breed in Britain every spring and stay for the shortest period of any migrant, arriving in May and leaving as early as mid-July. Their distinctive arrowhead silhouette is seen by many as a symbol of summer.
They have adapted to human habitation, squeezing through gaps under the eaves of houses, town halls and churches to make nests, typically on the beam on which roof rafters rest, where they are safe from predators.
But many buildings erected in the past 50 years do not have such gaps and, as older housing is renovated, nesting opportunities for swifts are disappearing all over the country. Modern buildings, especially those made using steel and glass, are a swift no-go area, and numbers are tumbling.
More here at the Independent
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is launching a nationwide search to identify where swifts are still seen and could be nesting. The key cause of their dramatic drop in numbers is thought to be the loss of nest sites in buildings, through property improvement or demolition.
Swifts have declined by 47 per cent since 1994, and this year have been added for the first time to the Amber List of Birds of Conservation Concern, meaning the threat to their future is considered serious.
Swifts come to breed in Britain every spring and stay for the shortest period of any migrant, arriving in May and leaving as early as mid-July. Their distinctive arrowhead silhouette is seen by many as a symbol of summer.
They have adapted to human habitation, squeezing through gaps under the eaves of houses, town halls and churches to make nests, typically on the beam on which roof rafters rest, where they are safe from predators.
But many buildings erected in the past 50 years do not have such gaps and, as older housing is renovated, nesting opportunities for swifts are disappearing all over the country. Modern buildings, especially those made using steel and glass, are a swift no-go area, and numbers are tumbling.
More here at the Independent
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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Meanwhile swallows are arriving earlier than ever, in response to climate change. Pity the poor cuckoo on the other hand. Indeed, sir, if you yourself are a cuckoo who's been missing out on your bit of annual cuckolding, let me explain why. The global warming is getting to you down there in southern Africa, your calendar's disturbed so you're setting out too late for our northern climes. By the time you get here all those prospective surrogate parents have made their short hop from the Mediterranean basin, built their nests, hatched their young and the daddy's proudly showing off his DNA proof to the neighbourhood. No point in coming in April any longer, mate.
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Permalink Reply by Melvyn on
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They're still nesting at our ouse. But possibly some nests have gone. Still the swifts are nesting and swooping at 22 Umfreville
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Not to be easily confused with Swallows or House Martins. Maybe try something like this to help.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Purple_martin_colony.jpg
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