Swift populations in the UK have been declining
Swift populations in the UK have been declining
The first swifts have nested in boxes installed at a University of Cambridge college which is hoping to help stem the decline of the birds and a lack of natural nesting sites.
Swifts are endangered, external and were added to the Red list of Birds of Conservation Concern in the UK in 2021, with numbers plummeting by 70% between 1995 and 2024, the RSPB said.
While there are swift boxes at a number of university sites in the city, boxes were only added to Darwin College three years ago.
Its master, Mike Rands, said: “We have actually got birds nesting in one of our boxes for the first time this year so we will watch this space with great excitement.”
Rands has been at the heart of the university’s efforts to encourage swift colonies in the city.
He is also the founding director of the University of Cambridge’s Cambridge Conservation Initiative at the David Attenborough Building, and former chief executive of BirdLife International.
Mike Rands helped install the new swift boxes at the David Attenborough Building back in 2020
Mike Rands helped install the new swift boxes at the David Attenborough Building back in 2020
Swifts, which have a short-forked tail and very long swept-back wings, fly to the UK from Africa each spring to breed.
But the estimated average population of the birds, which reach speeds of 69mph (111km/h), has fallen dramatically in the UK.
Swift boxes are placed high up on the David Attenborough Building in Cambridge
Swift boxes are placed high up on the David Attenborough Building in Cambridge
Swift boxes were installed at Darwin College about three years ago
Swift boxes were installed at Darwin College about three years ago
“One of the things the university is doing to try to help recover the swift population is to put nest boxes on buildings around the university to compensate for the fact that natural nest sites have disappeared as a result of new modern buildings,” Rands said.
Swift boxes were placed on the tower of the David Attenborough Building in the city in 2020 and the first pair nested and reared two chicks in 2021.
It now has 20 swift nest boxes, with 24 nesting chambers and recently added a live camera feed, external enabling people to look inside some of the nests.
Several other college buildings also have boxes and at the North-West Cambridge development at Eddington, more than 200 bird boxes have been installed and a number of those are for swifts.
Rands added: “It is fantastic to see them back here now, above Darwin College.
“I’m particularly pleased this year, because three years ago we put some nest boxes up and we are playing tapes of the calls, which we know attracts the birds in, but it usually takes a year or two for them to establish a colony.”
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Related internet links
RSPB
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