Woodbridge Swifts
The swift season is over again for another year. The sounds of high summer, swifts whirling and screaming through the town, have ceased. They have now completed their breeding season here and have started their migration to central and Southern Africa, where they will stay until next spring. These marvellous birds are endangered, their numbers have halved in the last 20 years. We don’t want to lose them from our town.
Please help the RSPB Woodbridge Local Group for the fifth year of their campaign to help our local swifts. We have been successful in encouraging people to put up nest boxes, to carry out swift friendly roof repairs and to to record swift nest sites in roofs and nest boxes in Woodbridge. We have recorded around 20 nest sites in Woodbridge with others in Melton and Bromeswell and there are 50 nest boxes in the town with more in Melton and Bromeswell.
If you have observed a swift nest site in your own roof, in another roof or in a nest box this summer please tell us. We need to know:
• the number of nests, if possible
• the height above the ground
• age of the building – estimate
• whether there is a possible threat to the nest site
• the number of years that you have seen nests at this site
• Your address and postcode.
If you are able to record your nest site for yourself, please do so on the RSPB and Suffolk Biodiversity Information Service websites:
https://swiftsurvey.org/rspb/home/index
http://www.suffolkbis.org.uk/swift
If you would like us to do it for you, send your observations to:
woodbridge.swifts@gmail.com
For more information see our website:
www.rspb.org.uk/groups/woodbridge
We have nest boxes for sale at £25.00 at the RSPB Woodbridge Local Group monthly meetings in the Community Hall at 7.30pm on the first Thursday of the month from October to May; or email woodbridge.swifts@gmail.com to arrange a consultation.
