Re: [SLN] Digest for swiftslocalnetwork@googlegroups.com - 1 update in 1 topic

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Edward Mayer

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Mar 24, 2026, 6:39:46 AM (11 days ago) Mar 24
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Hi there, the Century Arts building in Belfast has or had a very large colony of Swifts. Maybe it still has!

On 24-Mar-26 6:58 AM, swiftsloc...@googlegroups.com wrote:
nicki.baker <nicki...@btinternet.com>: Mar 23 09:02AM -0700

We don't know of any colonies as large as the largest ones you cite, but a
building in Blencathra Street, Keswick, that is rented out in flats,
records up to 30 different natural nest sites in two of the walls,
 
* Rear wall 2025
Front wall 2025*
[image: 1 Blencathra St rear 3 2025.jpg.png] [image:
1 Blencathra St front 2 2025.png]

 
and the Staff Quarters at Castle Inn, a hotel spa complex a few miles from
Keswick and Cockermouth, has ~17 natural nest sites under the eaves.
[image: Castle Inn 1 (002).jpg] *Staff Quarters, Castle Inn*
 
Nicki
Keswick Swifts
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Edward Mayer

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Mar 27, 2026, 5:14:05 AM (9 days ago) Mar 27
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Dear Annie, Quite honestly, this is in my opinion no more than a PR stunt. Inserting a handful of Storks and a couple of dozen beavers into London is in no sense at all "Re-wilding". It's just a "feel good" exercise to make people think that the GLA is on top of a problem that is more or less insoluble, the devastation of what is left of wildlife in London. I have lived much of my life here, and what I see is birdlife withering away. We used to have House Martins and Tawny Owls a-plenty in this area of London where I live. Both species have vanished, together with Spotted Flycatchers, Willow Warblers, and most of the Thrushes and Swifts too. The massive increase in the dog population driven by Covid sees all publicly accessible green spaces turned in to public dog toilets, with again a suppressive effect on bird life; there are almost no ground nesting birds left in London. These sort of PR exercises, inserting a handful of birds and mammals at great cost into a broadly hostile environment, are substitutes for the long hard slog to get some real effective action on re-wilding, or even just making conditions that bit better for birds. Just controlling dog access to parks and nature reserves could bring back the Skylark, and maybe the Wheatear too, but it's difficult, expensive, requires people to be employed to administer and enforce it, and might be unpopular with some or even many voters. So it won't happen. What happens is one-off PR stunts. Sorry! The only answer meanwhile is to rewild our own gardens. All the best, Edward

On 04-Jan-26 6:58 AM, swiftsloc...@googlegroups.com wrote:

Alistair

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Mar 27, 2026, 6:03:57 AM (8 days ago) Mar 27
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As Edward says its a whole range of factors that have caused the dramatic wildlife decline. 

Old trees removed as they can fall on people will mean crevice nesting species have nowhere to live, the canals are now fully occupied by live aboards so disturbance will mean aquatic animals are affected, domestic predator numbers (cats and dogs) are probably at an all time high which causes disturbance and lack of prey (small mammals and birds). Petro horticulture sprays, lack of native plants for insects to use, no hay meadows, no livestock as agriculture is unviable which means no insects, no derelict buildings, all eaves are now sealed for energy conservation, ponds disappeared, paved over from gardens, astroturf rear lawns.

None of the Grand Design programmes or gorgeous George ever mention conservation in architecture…..

So it would be great if GLA did do more and maybe change the contracts for the parkland management.  Dedicate 30% to wildlife friendly measures.  Don’t chip all the fallen branches, leave large tree trunks, exclude people to protect veteran trees etc

However people can make a difference despite what the politicians do and No Mow May is an example along with the Wildlife Trust Campaign to make gardens wildlife friendly, along with the swift movement….

Just writing to a local paper, taking action in your own area, talking to your neighbours all makes a difference….

Just watched The Wild Gardener which although on a big scale 1 acre the same principles apply to a small area https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00121fw. Now need to read William Robinson book The Wild Gardener…

There is the wildlife gardening forum too: https://wlgf.org

How about Moor meadows? Register your lawn as a meadow and see how it changes under a hay regime…. https://moormeadows.org.uk

How does Berlin do it?  Apparently they have a thriving nightingale population…..

Lastly despite the lack of response from politicians people across the UK are making a difference in their areas for swifts and wildlife in general!

Sorry for the rant…

Alistair


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