Time to get out surveying

It's time to get out surveying your Swifts. I went to one of my local sites on Pontypridd on Thursday. There were 20 or so Swifts screaming overhead. I located one house where at least four (possibly 5) birds were entering holes under the eaves.
I notice that SEWBREC and the other Welsh Record Centres are holding an event on June 10th, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their formation.  They have highlighted several species that they wish to record and the Swift is one of them.

Sorry tale

Had a phone call from Dave & Margaret Knight from Penarth last week. His neighbour's cat had brought in a Swift. It was still alive, so Dave did exactly the right thing, by putting it in a box and giving it water from a tissue. Sadly the Swift died the next day. It seems, it had been trying to enter a nest site that had been blocked up during renovations to the roof and exhausted itself. It shows that we must be mindful of this when undertaking roof repairs.

Kings Road, Canton

Julia and I leafletted Kings Road in Canton yesterday. There are a few pairs of Swifts in the area and we thought we'd make the locals aware of them. Awaiting responses.

Nature's Home magazine

Cardiff and the GBC are included in an article on Swifts in the current edition of Nature's Home magazine. I undertook a phone interview with Louise Tickle some time ago and quite frankly had forgotten all about it and was quite shocked to see my name in print this afternoon.

Swift update

A Swift has already been seen (at Sker Point on 15th Apr - incredibly early).

• Julia has been back to Llantwit Major and fitted the call system to the boxes in the church tower. Let's hope that it is a success. 
• A proposal has been put to the Heritage Lottery Fund for funding for a Swift Tower in Cardiff Bay. Watch this space.

Boxes in St Illtuds, Llantwit Major

Good news. The Swift boxes have been erected inside the church tower. Thanks to Howard Driver, who built the boxes and to Gareth Roberts who did all the negotiating. The next job is to install the Swift call equipment.

Cardiff Harbour Authority

A meeting was held on 23rd February with the CHA, RSPB and ourselves to discuss the possibility siting of a Swift tower in Cardiff Bay. This area attracts lots of Swifts on passage and would, we believe be a great place to site a tower.