We’ve installed Swift nest boxes on buildings at County Hall in Exeter and at the Grand Western Canal in Tiverton to help summer visitors find safe nesting sites as numbers continue to fall nationwide.
It’s all part of our scheme to support swifts – one of the UK’s most distinctive birds – and follows a decision last year to install swift nest boxes across our estate.
The RSPB say that Swifts are on the UK’s Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern. For every ten Swifts zooming across our skies in 1995, there were only about three by 2022.
Swifts typically arrive in late April and May after migrating around 3,400 miles from Africa, often stopping to refuel in countries such as Portugal and France.
They are well known for their fast, acrobatic flights and the high-pitched calls that mark the start of summer.
Because swifts stay for only a few months, it is essential that they find a nesting site quickly. Numbers have fallen significantly in the last decade, and one of the main reasons is thought to be the loss of nesting spaces.
Swifts nest in small gaps and cavities in buildings and are faithful to their sites, returning year after year.
When repairs block access points – for example during roof works or when soffits are replaced – birds can be forced to search for new sites at short notice.
We’ve already installed swift boxes in the bell tower at County Hall, Exeter.
Swifts have been seen visiting in recent years and may have nested. The Council is now expanding the scheme by installing additional boxes on other buildings when maintenance work is taking place and scaffolding is already in place.
The first new boxes have been fitted on another County Hall building, which the Council hopes will become an important nesting location, and at the Grand Western Canal offices. Boxes are also being provided for bats, house martins and sparrows.
Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Bio-diversity, said:
“Swifts are one of the great sounds of a Devon summer, but they can only breed successfully if they can find a suitable nest site quickly. By fitting swift boxes when we’re already carrying out building maintenance, we’re making a simple, practical change that can make a real difference for local wildlife.”
Residents and businesses can also help by installing swift boxes, reporting swift sightings and raising awareness. Find out more at the Devon Swift Project and on the RSPB website: Swift Bird Facts | Apus Apus.