70 events celebrate the amazing SwiftUK Swift Awareness Week, which starts on Saturday 1 July, has 70 events running across the UK, from Devon to Aberdeenshire and from North Wales to East Sussex.It precedes the parliamentary debate on 10th July about the installation of nest sites for red listed urban birds like the swift in all new buildings (see below).
These awareness events have been organised by many of the 119 local swift groups. Several are enjoying considerable success in attracting swifts into new nest boxes, projects which will help to reverse the inexorable decline of this red-listed, ‘sound of the summer’ bird whose numbers are down by over 60%.Dick Newell, who set up the Action for Swifts blog, has been installing and experimenting with nest box design for different types of building for over 20 years.He said: “Where boxes have been installed, villages near me in Cambridgeshire that once had a handful of birds now have tens of pairs. And nest boxes in church belfries have proved particularly successful, with some 60 pairs now nesting in one belfry.This needs to be replicated across the country and already, many of the UK’s swift groups are getting involved”.
Edward Mayer, founder of Swift Conservation, added: “To complement these voluntary initiatives, if Swifts are to maintain their numbers, the building industry needs to install the cost-effective and well-proven internal nest boxes called ‘Swift Bricks’ in all new developments as well as in refurbished older buildings.MPs will debate this very issue immediately after Swift Awareness Week, a petition on the subject having more than 110,000 signatures. “UK Swift Awareness Week 2023 begins on 1 July and runs until Sunday 9 July.A full list of the 70 events can be found here: SAW 2023 events – Google Docs .Hannah Bourne-Taylor, petition organiser, said: “Swift Awareness Week is ideal since it runs just before the important parliamentary debate on Monday 10th July about installing universal ‘bricks’ to help urban birds like the swift and the house sparrow.”.ENDS
[registration_form]