However, I know that in a little over a month's time, Swifts will be back, returning to their historical nest sites. One of them is our house. The outside of the house was painted last summer and it was only after the decorators had finished, that I noticed they had blocked up some gaps on the end of the eaves. Full marks to them for such attention to detail, but it has stuffed things up as a potential nest site for swifts and starlings that have both nested, or tried to nest, in those gaps before.
A solution was sought and we are now the proud owner of two RSPB branded Swift boxes.
Just to refresh my memory as to their plight, I had a look at the Swift Conservation website. Some of the stats charting the decline of Swifts are extremely depressing. It is important to highlight what the problems are, but it is much more important to find workable solutions and I would urge anyone reading this to have a look at the website www.swift-conservation.org.uk If the boxes alone don't do the job, I have bought the CD of screaming swifts in the hope that this proves irresistable.
