On 17th June, a group of Swift enthusiasts did a "Swift Walk" around Taffs Well. Few Swifts have been seen in the village this year however we were lucky to catch sight of 8 birds flying at height over the Taff. Plans are afoot to install some boxes in the village
Following some vandalism to the old noticeboard, we have had a replacement produced by Cardiff firm, Morgans Consult. We took the opportunity to update the information and managed to include the new Glamorgan Bird Club and RSPB logos.
We've been busy over the winter. Our links with housing associations has borne fruit. As well as Merthyr Valley Homes, we have set up nest box schemes with both Newydd Housing and Valleys to Coast Housing. Another church has come on board with boxes delivered to St Mary Church near Cowbridge.
Pictured are reps from Newydd Housing and Alan Rosney from Glamorgan Bird Club at the development in Barry, where 9 boxes are to be erected.
We've got two new nest box schemes in the pipeline. Firstly, we have been in contact with MV Homes in Merthyr and they are keen to erect some Swift boxes on some of their properties. Howard Driver has built some boxes which will be delivered soon.
Today (17th May), the pupils of Ninian Park School visited the Swift tower. They learned a lot about Swifts; their migration, where they nest, how fast they fly etc etc. An enjoyable day was had by all and the pupils rounded it off with a boat trip around the bay.
We are due to have a repeat performance tomorrow.
Sadly we weren't allowed to take pictures.
The Swift project goes on apace. We held our Heritage Lottery funded “Welcome back the Swifts” event on the Cardiff Bay barrage on 14th May. Luckily the day was fine and we were able to set up our stall near the Swift tower. Some Swifts were spotted early on but as temperatures rose there were fewer sightings. Over a hundred folk came seeking information and advice about how to help our Swifts. Sadly the Swift Champion from the Senedd. Jenny Rathbone was unable to attend but Cardiff Councillor Bob Derbyshire, a keen advocate for wildlife, did come along and met some of the team.
RSPB Cymru put on some activities for children and many happy youngsters went away with a model Swift on a stick and a pin badge. Two guided walks were undertaken with Whitethroat, Greenfinch, Linnet and Goldfinch of note. The main interest however was the Sand Martins that are nesting close to the tower. Some lucky observers saw Red Kite, Wheatear, Peregrine and Rock Pipit too. Many thanks to all who supported the event.
Just a reminder that on May 14th, we shall be on the Cardiff Bay barrage welcoming back the Swifts. Come along and meet the team.
Welcome back the Swifts event
We have a green light for the “Welcome Back the Swifts” event, which we are co-hosting with our Cardiff Bay Swift Project partners - i.e. RSPB Cymru and the Cardiff Harbour Authority. This will be held on Saturday May 14th from 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. We shall set up near the Swift tower on the Cardiff Bay barrage. Mark the date in your diary and please come along to celebrate the return of these iconic birds from Africa. We shall set up telescopes and have binoculars to hand. There will be guided bird walks (hopefully watching Swifts, amongst others), information packs and plenty of activities for children.
You may well have had a pleasant stroll across the Cardiff Bay barrage in recent weeks and heard the sound of Swifts screaming overhead. No, you’re not going daft. Swifts have been heard over the bay during the last couple of months. Joking aside, the repairs that we had undertaken to the tower call system meant that we weren’t able to add a timing device. This means that it is permanently playing. We have been assured that the solar panels and the battery can take the loading so we decided to let it play on. It does at least cause passers-by to stop and inspect the tower.
Following our successful link up with the Valleys 2 Coast Housing Association last year, we have contacted several other HA’s and have had a very positive response from the United Welsh Housing Association, who are mainly based in the Ely area of Cardiff. We hope to set up a Swift box scheme there. Good news too that the new library building in Pontypridd has integrated Swift bricks. Let’s hope they are used.
You’ll find a useful leaflet about on Swift bricks on the Glamorgan Bird Club web site. If you are involved in planning, construction or are considering renovations, please check it out.
A site visit to Cowbridge was made to see some successful nest boxes. One house in the main street has 5 pairs (3 in boxes - see below). Boxes do work, especially if there is a colony nearby. The owner is hoping to erect more boxes. The Club hope to organise a Swift Walk around the town to see if we can find more nesting pairs.
Late news - Annie Irving was walking past the tower in mid March and saw House Sparrows entering one of the boxes. This is actually a positive sign. Recent research seems to point to Swifts “following” Sparrows to find potential nesting sites. Fingers crossed.
New Year update
As expected the Swift has now been put on to the BoCC red list. The criteria for inclusion varies from species to species but in the case of the Swift it was a 50% fall in numbers over a 25 year period that caused the downgrade. Alarm bells are ringing.
There has been a lot of fire-fighting with our Swift projects. The Cardiff Bay Swift tower group has met to discuss various issues, not least of which was the faulty call system. We have now fixed the problem, with the help of BlackboxAV from Port Talbot (see below). They replaced the player but had to by-pass the time controller so the player will be on full-time. Luckily there are no neighbours to annoy. Also we have undertaken our bi-annual safety inspection of the tower and fortunately it passed all the checks as part of our bid to the Heritage Lottery.
Chris Dunn from Trinity Church in Penarth has been in touch. You may well recollect that scaffolding had been placed around the church tower. They have been having problems with pigeons in the tower and are planning to add mesh to the outside of the louvred entrances. We are hoping to cut small holes to line up with our Swift box entrances - fingers crossed.
The possibility of installing boxes in Fonmon Castle has stalled. The owners have asked us to pause the project for the time being, whilst some problems with the electrics are sorted.
There is some positive news however. The Caerphilly LNP discussed Swifts at a recent meeting. Richard Clarke has been installing Barn Owl boxes in churches in the county and is hoping to install some Swift boxes too. We have also been in touch with the Newydd Housing Association in Barry to discuss installing some boxes there.
Of interest a Common Swift was seen hawking for insects over Sheffield on 3rd December.
We have been missing a trick - each quarter we contribute an article on progress to the Glamorgan Bird Club newsletter. To kill two birds with one stone (probably not an appropriate phrase for this site), we shall post the update here too. Sorry some of the text hasn't copied across too well.
Glamorgan
Swift project update glamorganswiftchampions.blogspot.co.uk
Sadly the swift season is now behind us but there’s been plenty of activity with all of our Swift projects (unfortunately not from nesting Swifts).
Richard Smith contacted us to tell us that 12 Swifts had been screaming around St Illtud’s Church in Llantwit Major, where one of our church tower box schemes is located. He didn’t see any Swifts using the boxes but fingers crossed. As we keep saying - it’s a long term project.
Strinda Davies reported finding more nests on the Marlas Estate in North Cornelly, some of which were close to the boxes erected there earlier in the season. (There were Swifts present here into early September). In addition, she has been in further contact with Andy Jones of V2C Housing association, who is keen to involve GBC in the siting of nest boxes on the new housing being built on the site of the Afon-y-Felin Primary school, which is being re-located to the Quadrant on the same estate. Let’s hope for a fruitful partnership.
A Swift survey with the RCT Local Nature Partnership and Julia Barrell in Ferndale saw 6 Swifts and confirmed one breeding site. A local school has been contacted with a view to erecting some boxes there. They formerly bred at this site and we are hopeful of attracting them back there. (House Martins used to breed there too). There are a few issues to sort out but we it would be great to get a box scheme going there.
We also hope to erect some boxes in a niche in Fonmon Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan. There is room for several boxes. It might be awkward putting them up, as it is a grade 1 listed building and as such we are not allowed to drill in to the fabric but Howard Driver has come up with yet another cunning plan - he’s as cunning as a fox that’s been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University - sorry watched too many Black Adder repeats during lockdown Ed J.
It’s
one step forward and one step back in Trinity Church in Penarth. Annie Irving,
who lives opposite the church, reported lots of Swift activity in the area
(including young birds “banging” on her property) but she also reported that
scaffolding went up on the church during the breeding season. The louvres with
the box entrances weren’t covered. She doubted that Swifts would be able to
access the site but where there’s a will there’s a way.
Swifts have been seen around the tower on the barrage but as yet we have no evidence of the nest boxes being used. Please let us know if you saw any activity there this summer. In early August, the sight of hundreds of Swifts flying in the bay area was quite spectacular.
Sadly Café Hafren, the RSPB café on the barrage has closed. We were planning to set up a Swift information hub in the café - time for a re-think. We’ve been told that the new tenancy agreement includes screening videos about CHA projects, including the Swift tower.
We are regularly asked whether there has been any take up in the Cardiff Bay Tower (a similar tower in Warsaw has had occupation). There has been quite a debate on the effectiveness of towers on the Local Swift Forum recently. Dick Newell from Cambridge reported this:
In recent years some have been less than enthusiastic about Swift Towers because there are few examples of successful ones. They are quite expensive and often not near mains power for attraction calls. In this country, we know of only a handful with any Swifts. However, here in Cambridge, we can report some progress.
The Cambridge Swift Tower, 100 nestboxes, was erected
in 2011. It took until 2014 to attract the first pair. It then grew to 3-4
pairs by 2020. This year, however, we believe it is occupied by 6 pairs.
The Trumpington Community Orchard Tower, 11 nest
chambers, was erected in 2013. The first occupation again occurred in 2014,
which grew to 3 pairs in 2020 and this year, birds have been seen entering a
4th nest chamber. Most of the other chambers were occupied by House Sparrows
this year.
Brian Callahane in Northern Ireland reported that 3 towers
there were fully occupied.
In addition these towers provide a visual spectacle through
the summer, regularly attracting large screaming parties and they certainly are
useful in public awareness raising of the plight of our Swifts. If you wait
long enough, they can work.
In
late July we were contacted by several folk who had found grounded Swifts.
These are likely to have been young birds on their first foray out of the nest.
Once on the ground they find it very difficult to take off. If you ever find
one, the advice is to calm the bird down by putting it in a cardboard box.
Don’t attempt to feed it, they are of course insectivorous (feeding is best
done by a Swift carer). The bird might take some water from a cotton bud. After
a period (possibly overnight) and if the bird has perked up you should then try
a controlled release. Take the bird to an open area and place it on the palm of
your hand with your arm outstretched. With luck the Swift should take off from
there. Don’t be tempted to throw the bird in the air. We know of at least four
local birds that were helped in this way in Cowbridge and in Aberdare.
Another snippet from the Local Swift Network forum illustrated that we are not alone in our concern for the plight of Swifts. Prince Charles stated his love of Swifts in a recent interview, referencing watching the Swifts that nest in Windsor Castle. He has had Swift boxes and a call system installed on his Welsh property and the Duchy of Cornwall has undertaken sterling work by erecting over 8,000 nest boxes and bricks in their developments - at a rate of one per dwelling. Wish that our local authorities would follow suit.
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On all our Swift projects, we have installed a call player
to try and attract Swifts. This is quite an expensive bit of kit and we have
had problems getting hold of components in the past. Whilst trawling through
the Action for Swifts web pages recently, we came across a “new” low
cost piece of equipment developed by Graham Fell of Cumbrian Swifts. He
estimates that the cost of the whole of his set up would probably be around
£10. Try googling "TF card U disk MP3 Format decoder". It comes as a
printed circuit board. There is no housing, you’d need to supply your own. GBC are hoping to try it out. If you can turn
your hand to basic electronics, why not take a look at the Action for Swifts
web page for full details.
We
are in need of a qualified electrician to help with our Swift projects. Are
there any GBC members out there who could help out? As can be seen from the
article on the previous page we aim to try and add call players to all our box
schemes. If you can help, please contact Alan Rosney.
RSPB
Swift Mapper app
Many
of you will now be familiar with the smartphone/computer app whereby you can
log your Swift nest site and screaming party data. A quick analysis has shown
27 occupied nests in our area in 2021. Have you added your data yet? If not, please do and remember to add an
address to the comments box.
Areas
where Swifts were reported nesting in 2021 (from Swift mapper)
|
Tonypandy |
2 |
Llanrumney |
1 |
Penarth |
2 |
|
Pontypridd |
4 |
Ely |
1 |
Ferndale |
1 |
|
Radyr |
2 |
Barry |
1 |
Penderyn |
1 |
|
Llandaf |
3 |
Cowbridge |
1 |
|
|
|
Canton |
2 |
Porthcawl |
1 |
|
|
|
Riverside |
2 |
Aberaman |
1 |
|
|
Today we visited Fonmon Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan. They would like some Swift boxes put up on the castle. We saw plenty of House Martin activity in the window recesses of the 11C century castle. One wonders how long House Martins have been using the site for nesting?
Swifts are known to use the river valley below the castle for feeding and there is scope for some boxes at the site. A complication is that the building is grade 1 listed and we would be unable to drill in to the fabric. We identified a niche on the north wall of the castle that might be suitable for a bank of boxes, which might possibly be braced in to the gap, without disturbing the fabric of the building. There is also an electricity supply nearby, so a call player might be feasible.
It's early days yet but we are hopeful of getting something started at the site.
The Cardiff swift survey is in its third year. We've got 26 keen volunteers going out surveying their local areas. We await the results of their findings with interest.
Mary Gallagher has found nesting Swifts in Porthcawl and a group from the RCL Nature Partnership found a nest in Ferndale. Keep searching folks.
Coincidentally Edward Mayer, founder of Swift Conservation, posted this today. If you are using an attraction call player there is some good advice:
Some swifts are already back in their nests and they will
hopefully be back in numbers during the first couple of weeks of May,
then more, juveniles, will be arriving in June. The two best times to
attract Swifts are in May, when returning breeders may find their old
nest gone, and have to make a new one, and in July, when young Swifts,
yet to breed, try and find a nest place for the next breeding season, in
the next year.
Today we made running repairs to the call player that is used to try and attract Swifts to the church tower in Trinity Church, Penarth. 4 nest boxes have been installed inside the tower. Upon inspection, the old player was completely clogged up with Pigeon droppings. Howard came up with a clever ploy to place the new system downstairs and to run a speaker cable up to the boxes. Here is a photo of the new unit.
It's been a while since the blog was updated - well the Swifts have been sunning themselves in Africa. Not long now until they return to our shores.
We were delighted to welcome Edward Mayer to give the Glamorgan Bird Club and Cardiff RSPB a talk on Swifts via Zoom. Here is a short summary of what proved to be an excellent talk.
"Swifts - the birds you can help!" - Edward Mayer Tuesday 2nd March 2021
Edward Mayer give us an insight into the lives of Swifts. We had 59+ participants. We were pleased to have local some Cardiff RSPB members, as well as a member of Bejing Swifts, as participants.
Edward’s delivery was both informative and entertaining. His enthusiasm shone through. He took us through the incredible journeys that Swifts undertake each year and highlighted some of the problems that they encounter en route.
Swifts can eat 20,000 insects per day. Indeed one factor that Edward pointed out was that as Swift numbers decline, the number of insects naturally increase and this may have contributed to the spread of certain vector borne diseases in southern Europe. Conversely we saw large tracts of agricultural land that had had so much insecticide applied that Swifts were struggling to find any food. Another aspect he emphasised was the fact that our cities were fast becoming our “new” nature reserves. Examples of the “greening” of cities were illustrated.
We saw many nest sites ranging from pantile roofs to UPVC guttering. He also pictured tree nesting Swifts in Poland and the Cairngorms. His main point was however the lack of nesting places in modern buildings and the move to hermetically seal our dwellings.
We saw several designs of both Swift box and brick. He showed us the house of Erich Kaiser, a German Swift expert, who had 90 (yes, ninety!) swift bricks installed. Also featured were the tower in Cardiff Bay and a couple of our church tower projects.
We rounded off with various schemes that had embraced Swifts as the focus of community schemes - a model which we could well investigate.
Many thanks Edward.
