The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Lincolnshire Swifts – status and distribution?




Joint LBC and LWT Online Lincolnshire Swift Survey at http://www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk/Articles ... survey.htm

They are the masters of the air, able to feed, sleep and even mate on the wing. Every year they travel on a round trip of more than 20,000km to and from southern Africa without once touching the ground.

If a recent RSPB report proves correct, in just 20 years time our skylines will no longer echo to the sound of swifts. Since the 1990s, the UK swift population has declined by a massive 40%. With just 36,000 remaining pairs in the UK, the prospect of the species disappearing from Britain within the next two or three decades is a very real one. The main reason for the dramatic fall in numbers is the lack of nesting places in our towns and villages.

We are interested in more detailed information about breeding swifts in Lincolnshire so we can estimate if populations of swifts in Lincolnshire have declined in line with the rest of the UK – if you have swifts breeding in your house or have details of swifts breeding in a building near you, please take a few minutes to fill in our online survey at http://www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk/Articles ... survey.htm.

Every year the Lincolnshire Bird Club collects data on swifts breeding in Lincolnshire, but this year in association with the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, we would like more detailed observations.

The online form allows you to supply details of location, building type and roof structure. We are aware that we are NOW reaching the end of the 2009 breeding season, and will be running this survey again in 2010.

Further details on Swifts

Legal Status: Swifts and their nests are fully protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it an offence intentionally to kill, injure or take any wild bird. It is an offence intentionally to take, damage or destroy the eggs, young or nest of a swift whilst it is being built or in use.

RSPB Swift pages found at http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdgui ... /index.asp

Details of Swift nest boxes for next season, can be found at http://www.swift-conservation.org/swift_bricks.htm

Found a grounded swift? Click here for details from the RSPB http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdgui ... ounded.asp

Useful Links

The London Swift group - http://www.londons-swifts.org.uk/
The Swift Conservation group - http://www.swift-conservation.org/
The Swift Conservation groups Leaflets - http://www.londons-swifts.org.uk/OurLeaflets.htm

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Andrew Chick
Website: http://www.forktail.co.uk/