Since I have been visiting this site, I have seen Swifts on an almost annual basis and it is likely that they used to nest in the church tower. However, a few years ago, there was a major refurbishment undertaken to the church tower. St. Nicholas Church was built in the 13th century. The chancel and south aisle were added in the 14th century. The timber roof is more than 500 years old whilst the oldest part is the nave which dates back over 800 years. Obviously as a Grade 1 listed building, its preservation and conservation are very important but since the refurbishment work was completed, I have seen very few Swifts each summer. Surely whoever was responsible for commissioning the work could have ensured continued access to the nest sites for our local Swifts. Evidently not.
The UK's Swifts are in trouble. It is estimated that their population has deceased by 57% between 1995 and 2017, primarily due to the application of pesticides and habitat destruction which has affected their insect food supply. The modernisation of many buildings has also resulted in the loss of roof nesting sites. More information can be found at Swift Conservation.
The RSPB have launched their Swift mapper which can be found here. This enables anyone to easily record their Swift sightings and contribute to the national database.
I have uploaded my sightings for St. Nicholas Church and also those from my lockdown window.
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Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
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