Amazing stories about the lives of these beautiful birds
Swifts are the UK’s fastest birds and their exciting, aerobatic, screaching flights over Buriton is always a sign that summer has arrived.
But swifts are in trouble as changes are made to buildings which block up or remove their nest sites: new soffits, re-roofing, extra insulation etc.
The swift population has halved in the last 20 years and the decline has been noticeable in Buriton recently.
Following on from the programme of installing dozens of swift boxes around the village, Tim Norriss, an expert from the Hampshire Swifts Charity, led a short evening stroll around the village on 6 July to share his knowledge about these amazing birds - followed by a chat over a pint in the Five Bells: a Swift Pint !
Tim explained that swifts pair for life and are ‘site-faithful’, so if a building has been demolished, renovated, or the gap obstructed or repaired, they must find somewhere new and quickly.
Swifts are only here for around three months, two of which are spent raising chicks - so if an alternative site can’t be found fast, a whole breeding season will be skipped.
Tim confirmed that this is where Buriton’s project can change things: by fitting swift boxes onto local houses some new, alternative nesting sites can be offered and hopefully the population of swifts will grow over time.
Over 30 boxes were installed in May including four on the village hall along with a call player which is used from May to July to attract birds to the area.
The Parish Council has also ensured that all the new houses currently being built on the development site in the village will have swift bricks installed during construction – as well as bee bricks and bat tiles for other important creatures.
Tim also explained that newly fledged swifts can fly immediately and that they undertake the long journey to southern Africa without any help from their parents. The birds will all have left Britain by August once the breeding season has finished, only returning at the beginning of May the following year.
There is more about the fascinating lives of swifts on the charity’s website: here.
