The RSPB is gathering extensive information about exactly where swifts are nesting in the UK. It is suspected that their rapid decline in recent years is linked with a drop in suitable nesting sites, as buildings are modernised.
The first year’s survey reveals that of the houses where swifts are nesting:
- Over half (51%) were built before 1919
- Exactly a quarter were built between 1919-1944
- Over half (52%)had been known swift nesting sites for more than 10 years
- Almost a fifth (16%) were considered threatened
- Almost 5% of swifts were recorded in churches
The data will be used to make sure that exhilarating displays of screaming swifts continue being part of British summers.