Swifts need our help

swifts need our help! · 24-04-2011 11:27pm #1

Hi all

I'm new here and have something to ask

Everyone probably has at one time had a blue tit, or other bird, nest box in the garden.

The, now not so common, common swifts are in serious decline across the UK and Ireland. The biggest decline, -60%, is in Scotland and the south east of England. The rest of UK and Ireland has a decline of 30%. Someone has worked out the decline is 1.5% per year. This means in under 50 years the swift could be extinct from these islands.

I was here when the corncrake vanished but hope the swifts is still here when it's my turn to go.

The decline was cause by the building boom, new laws about heat retention, PVC fascia boards, demolition of pre war housing/mills/old street house and ... and ...

If everyone who watches the thread was to put up swift nest boxes you can help save the swifts.

All it takes is three simple steps
1. build 3 very easy to make swift nest boxes
2. position them under the eaves of your house
3. play the CD lure to draw in non breeding swifts

non breeders are swifts that are too young to breed and those that are of breeding age but have no nest site

Here is a very easy nest box to make. Your local builders supplier will cut the sizes for you. All you need to do is assemble it
http://saveourswifts.co.uk/nest-sites-home-made.htm

I always recommend 3 nest boxes because swifts will fight over one.

If you are a good handyman make some like this
http://saveourswifts.co.uk/nestboxes.htm

This is my set up - 22 nest boxes and 10 pairs of swifts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QVyp2kVAcI

The 'confused' birds in the videos below are non breeders and known as bangers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iYQrtFru4c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2ve7Rm89W8

Thanks for reading all of this

Mark
Northern Ireland Swift Group
http://saveourswifts.co.uk/

swifts need our help! · 24-04-2011 11:48pm

Print this and bring it to your wood yard

swifts need our help! · 24-04-2011 11:52pm

Has anyone tried to attract swifts but failed? There is always a reason.

This 20 nest chamber went up in a car park of the new Tesco store in Crumlin, County Antrim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFkcStwutBE

The swift group will be pushing to get one of these in every nature reserve, school yard, supermarket grounds ....

E39MSport · 25-04-2011 10:18am

FYI

Always healthy numbers in Maynooth for some reason. Plenty of older buildings perhaps. You can see them down the small road where the Garda station is.

swifts need our help! · 25-04-2011 10:39am

that's good to know but numbers of breeding swifts is difficult to estimate because of the large number of non breeders that arrived in late May and early June.

Numbers in my town are dropping fast. The largest colony of c.50 pairs was demolished to make way for a Tesco superstore. A smaller colony of 14 pairs had their nest entrances blocked with yellow expanding foam because "the birds sh1t on my car" said the building owner. The droppings were actually caused by the rookery across the river

mgwhelan · 25-04-2011 10:54am

this is what i put up this year but starlings are using it now

rmm.contents.raw?sigKey=88s5ljn&cd=a&sig=0ddf210287c1e0dae8e3eb411e5730a5

these are ones i made for a neighbor

rmm.contents.raw?sigKey=88s5ljn&cd=a&sig=07fc6842deef91637968e97dbe74e55e

rmm.contents.raw?sigKey=88s5ljn&cd=a&sig=1ba8234c5dee6b878e6e8e9a05270a21

you can make eight boxes from one sheet of ply, better off using marine ply its around 18 euro a sheet but you need to varnish them as well, i uploaded the plans.

https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/332345/156492.pdf

swifts need our help! · 25-04-2011 11:11am

The good old Dutch Zeist box

The starlings are getting in because the hole is too big. It has to be no more than 33mm high and 65mm wide.

Two ways to stop the starlings
1. block the nest hole until the end of April
2. reduce the hole size

Starlings are very nest site aggressive and possessive. For weeks after the chicks have fledged one bird possibly the male will guard the site. They will ground swifts which, unless the surface is smooth and clutter free, cant take off.

You either want swift or starlings - seemples

Are you playing the CD lure?

People will find my design much easier to put together. I have had 20 Zeist boxes in my shed for 3 years.

I used to have Zeist boxes under my eaves but changed them because the swifts kept search on top of the boxes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AykpeG24FjU

I then changed them to match the angle of the eaves and reduced the nest width to squeeze in an extra box. The swift lure is playing but when the volume goes up it is a pair of birds in a box shouting at bangers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2ve7Rm89W8

Over the winter I had another redesign to give the swifts more floor space and added 3 more nest boxes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpCBrUYhkCI

I have 5 pairs nesting on the gable and 5 pairs in the under eave nest boxes

swifts need our help! · 25-04-2011 11:16am

mgwhelan where do you live? I can add you, or anyone else, to my swift mailing list if you want.

I already have over 50 people from Ireland, mainly the north, on it. You only hear from me and all email addresses are hidden

What size holes have you made in your Zeists?

swifts need our help! · 25-04-2011 11:20am

20 of my 23 nest boxes have cameras inside - thats the black cables in the last video

Traonach · 25-04-2011 1:44pm

Interesting info swift lad and great work you are doing:)
I live in a bungalow. Would a bungalow not be high enough to put a swift nest box on? I already have mouse martin nest boxes up on the side of the house. The house martin are north facing and at 3m above the ground. Would that height be enough for the swifts? What time of year would you start playing the tape lure?

I could put up a swift tower. What would be the minimum height it would have to be? Would it have to be put at a minimum distance from trees? Where could I get one? Do you have the plans to build one? Does your group sell them? I kinda like the idea of a swift tower. It's like the Purple martin hotels in the North America.

doctor evil · 25-04-2011 3:05pm

Your website could do with clear photos/diagrams of swifts and details on how to distinguish them. It would be best to have this at the top of the mainpage. I'm not familiar with swifts but if the info is easy to locate then it draws more people in.

mgwhelan · 25-04-2011 5:55pm

the neighbor which i built the boxes for has got one of those cd lures alright. if the cd works and swift use the boxes do you haft to use it the year after?
im from south offaly beside the slieve blooms you can add me to your list alright. the hole size I used for the zeist boxes was 70 x 30.

swifts need our help! · 25-04-2011 10:04pm

Dr Evil I will source photos of swallows, both martins and swifts

basically
house martins look black with a white belly
http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?mode=search&sp=117070&rty=0&r=1&v=0&off=274009

sand martins look black with a white belly a chest bar
http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?mode=search&sp=117031&rty=0&r=1&v=0&off=296834

swallows look black and white and have two tail extensions
http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?mode=search&sp=117040&rty=0&r=1&v=0&off=298699

swifts look all black and have sickle shaped wings
http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?mode=search&sp=79085&rty=0&r=1&v=0&off=289098

swifts need our help! · 25-04-2011 10:09pm

Traonach, swift boxes, always at least 2, need to be 3m or more above the ground and have a clear way in and out ie no trees or shrubs or power lines.

My colony is an exception because of the sloping roof below. The gable colony is 2.5m up the wall and the under eave colony is 1.5m

Yes we have the design of the swift tower. The cost in N Ireland is under £2500 which includes making of it, cement base, delivery and putting it up. I can check delivery costs for you.

swifts need our help! · 25-04-2011 10:13pm

mgwhelan wrote: »

if the cd works and swift use the boxes do you haft to use it the year after?

I stopped playing the CD when I got 3 pairs. After that the swifts will have formed their own colony and start screaming parties which will draw in other swifts.

I started playing the CD again when I put up my under eave nest boxes. I plan to play it again this year and if all birds from 2010 come back I'll stop.

I'll move the speaker to the back of the house where I have three new nest boxes.

The CD simply shows they way

swifts need our help! · 25-04-2011 10:17pm

Traonach wrote: »

What time of year would you start playing the tape lure?

Mid May to the end of July and as loud as you can without distorting the sound

swifts need our help! · 02-05-2011 9:36pm

yesterday there were 2 swifts at my house. Today there were 5.

As soon as the wind shifts to the south they should come in good numbers

E39MSport · 03-05-2011 8:32am

Saw some around Clonsilla train station Sunday.

swifts need our help! · 03-05-2011 10:10pm

The first swift of 2011 is back in one of my nest boxes.

It returned on
3rd May 2011
3rd May 2010
7th May 2009

This bird and it's mate were the firsts swifts to nest on my house back in 2007.

Only 9 and half pairs to return

swifts need our help! · 03-05-2011 10:31pm

sorry folks I keep forgetting to sign the bottom of my posts

Mark
Antrim, N. Ireland

swifts need our help! · 05-05-2011 12:22am

here my first swift

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_lsnv2_4lA

swifts need our help! · 05-05-2011 7:35pm

another swift has returned to one of my nest boxes 10 days earlier than last year

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 06-05-2011 12:21pm

Only just came across this thread.

Swift numbers and breeding success are holding fine in the North East with steady figures over the past 30 years. An odd seasonal variation around weather conditions but breeding in not at risk here.

I would voice some caution about using a "tape lure". These can cause birds to expend energy following the lure or defending an area when there is absolutely no need for them to do so. I would go so far as to say our advice is never to use tapes to attract breeding birds. If the area is suitable and birds are in the area they will nest there. They do no need calls to attract them. Caring for birds and assisting in their breeding is more than just sticking up a box and playing a CD. The environment needs to be suitable.

magicbastarder · 06-05-2011 12:44pm

swifts need our help! wrote: »

sorry folks I keep forgetting to sign the bottom of my posts

Mark
Antrim, N. Ireland

i wouldn't worry too much about that, it's not considered necessary.

Queen of Pots · 06-05-2011 1:44pm

For the last few years we've had swifts nesting in the roof of and old shed outside. Part of one of the shed doors was missing so they found their way in through the gap. We blocked up the shed door a couple of months ago and I thought that that would be the end of them, but I'm delighted to see they've found another way in.

(Hope this photo turns out ok. I've reduced the size but I'll remove it if it's too big.)

swifts need our help! · 06-05-2011 1:49pm

Queen that's a starling!

Queen of Pots · 06-05-2011 2:03pm

What?

Oh dear......

Some birdwatcher I'm turning out to be. I wouldn't mind but Twitter confirmed that about a week ago. Head like sieve.

I'll be needing those 'lures' after all. Thanks SNOH.

swifts need our help! · 06-05-2011 8:44pm

Khalil Hissing Steamboat,

what is the source that says swifts are OK in the North East? BTO show a -50% decline is Scotland and South East of England. Everyone else has a -30% decline

Swift don't defend territories but their actual nest. The lure used widely from UK to Israel and up to Scandinavia and have proven its worth by bring non breeding swifts to new sites that are either built in nest boxes or put up post development.

Who do you work for? RSPB also play the CD at their HQ in England

During the 80s and 90s the swift breeding areas were far from stable. Their decline coincided with the building boom. Mills, pre-war housing and street housing were knocked down to make way new developments of metal, PVC and glass. These will have nowhere for swifts to nest. Most UK swifts nest in pre-war buildings.

Until I started there were no swifts in my housing estate. There are now 10 pairs in nest boxes and about the same using nests under the eaves that starlings use first

Khalil Hissing Steamboat wrote: »

I would voice some caution about using a "tape lure". These can cause birds to expend energy following the lure or defending an area when there is absolutely no need for them to do so. I would go so far as to say our advice is never to use tapes to attract breeding birds. If the area is suitable and birds are in the area they will nest there. They do no need calls to attract them. Caring for birds and assisting in their breeding is more than just sticking up a box and playing a CD. The environment needs to be suitable.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 06-05-2011 9:34pm

SNOH. No offence intended but my source is our records over the past 40 years (33 of them involving myself) and that of the Countryside Bird Survey, Birdwatch Ireland and the NPWS.
The North East I refer to is in the Republic and I make no reference to RSPB, Scotland, or SE England. I speak for what the situation is right here. I'm sure in the past 40 years or so building in SE England has had an impact. I don't dispute that.
Of course their breeding status in the Republic of Ireland as a whole is classed as Amber-listed. But in this particular region they are doing fine - which was what I said. The European population is currently evaluated as Secure.
Loss of breeding sites is a problem but a lack of insect food is proving more serious to the sucessful fledging of young each year, as a reslut of changing farming practice et al.
As for the lure - Swifts, if in the area, (which begs the need for the call in the first place) WILL still react to the lure call. I've seen them in action many times. All I'm trying to get at is that providing a nest site in an area that can support Swifts will result in nesting if Swifts are anywhere near. A distracting lure call in not needed. That's all. I applaude the provision of nest sites (I do it every year across a large region) and I'd ask anybody who can to provide them - as I would the provision of any nest boxes or platforms for any birds, Bats, Bees, or small mammals. But the lure call is not really needed.

I would also caution against comparing the UK situation to the Irish one. Indeed the BTO state that the situation regarding Swifts is a 30%+ reduction in Scotalnd, 22% in England & Wales but that the position in Northern Ireland is unclear( to use their words.)

We're on the same side here.:)

swifts need our help! · 06-05-2011 10:33pm

Thats good to know.

The lost nest sites in N Ireland is horrendous. Would you like to see the excel file the swift group put together?

swifts need our help! · 06-05-2011 10:37pm

Fight!

Right now in one of my nest boxes there is a fight. This is either a fight with an intruder or the pair failed recognise each other. In a dark nest site if Harry doesnt greet Sally properly Sally will assume there is an intruder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wskIIcClhdU

Swifts need our help

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