Save our amazing swifts

This project is not currently active but we are occasionally putting up new Swift boxes to continue helping to halt the decline in our swift population.

About the project

Swifts are one of our most iconic birds. Arriving to breed in our buildings in spring, they spend only three months here before migrating back to sub-saharan Africa. However, the number of swifts returning to the UK each year is declining rapidly, with a 50% decline in numbers in the last 20 years. The reasons for this decline are complex, but the one thing we can do something about is the loss of nesting places as we seal up our houses and roofs so there are no longer holes for them to nest in.

In the Blackwater Valley we should be blessed with swifts. Our Valley is a long stretch of lakes, ponds and wild spaces from years of gravel extraction providing the insect populations the birds need for feeding. At the same time we have our towns alongside to provide the nesting places.

Our project objectives are to record the swift population in the Blackwater Valley and to increase the number of swifts breeding here. We plan to do this by providing suitable nesting sites, in the hopes of encouraging swifts to make the Blackwater Valley their home.