Swifts ... going swiftly

The surest sign that the summer has truly arrived is the first appearance of the swifts over the rooftops of Brigg. Their piercing calls as they swoop low over our gardens is the soundtrack of a perfect summer evening. Sitting in the garden, glass of beer in hand watching the last rays of the sun shine through the treetops with the swifts barrelling overhead like black darts ... paradise!

In Brigg we are lucky as many of the houses are roofed with pan-tiles. The shape of the pan-tile leaving a bird-shaped hole on the eaves is perfect for the swifts to swoop into and use as a nesting place.

One little known fact about baby swifts in the nest is that they are fed by their parents to a weight which is too heavy for them to make their first flight. Before they make their first flight they must fast for a few days to get trimmer and down to flying weight. This period of fasting and waiting for the babies to fly could be one reason why their parents make many flights close to the roof in the evening calling. They could be impatient for their babies to take to their wings and join them high in the evening sky.

Another little known fact about swifts is that our current building laws are actively eliminating their nesting places. When new houses are built or old houses are re-roofed, all of the access holes and gaps used by the swifts to enter their nests are filled up. One by one, the swifts nesting places are being blocked off. Ultimately, if this continues, the beautiful swift will become extinct in Britain.

There is an answer to this insidious problem: swift bricks. There are special swift nest boxes available which can be built into houses to replace lost nesting locations or create new ones. The boxes themselves are in the form of a block which can be placed high up in the eaves of a house.

Anything that we can do to keep our swifts coming back in the summer is worth doing. The thought of the summer without their calls and daredevil flying antics is not good. A carefully placed swift brick could keep your garden full of summer delight.

More: www.swift-conservation.org