Swift colony under threat from private school closure

[Sally Gillard, Abingdon Swifts]

Hi all,

I hope you're having a good swift season and have enjoyed a good start to Swift Awareness Week.

Does anyone know of any private/public/independent schools closing in their area which is home to a colony of swifts?

We have a situation in Abingdon, where a private school closed suddenly last August that is home to a colony of swifts.  Whilst we are trying to establish protection for the future of this colony against potential development of the site, I wonder with more such schools under the threat of closure whether any of you have encountered a similar experience and if you have any advice on how best to ensure the protection of their swift colonies?  

We are writing to the current owners and I hope to galvanise more support in the local community through our SAW walk taking place this Thursday with the Abingdon Naturalists Society.

I visited this particular school last Friday evening with a former head teacher, who was aware of the colony and is concerned for its safety, and we saw screaming parties (including bangers) around the main building.  In the end there was a flock of 30+ swifts flying overhead.  It was a wonderful sight to behold.

I am concerned because this could potentially be an issue throughout the country if more such schools close.  Any advice/help would be gratefully received.

Many thanks.

Best wishes,

Sally

[caroline dudley]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: caroline dudley <carolin...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Subject: Swift colony under threat from private school closure
To: Swifts Local Network <swiftsloc...@gmail.com>

Hi Sally

Here on the Isle of Wight, an old school which had three pairs of nesting Swifts was due for demolition in summer 2013. I contacted Edward Mayer, Stephen Fitt and a conservation charity on the Isle of Wight, and the contractor and the Isle of Wight Council were contacted and demolition was delayed until we gave the all-clear that the Swifts had left in August.

Stephen and the conservation charity on the IW (then called Natural Enterprise, now The Common Space) worked with the developer of the new housing estate of 50 houses, Spectrum Housing (now part of the Sovereign Network Group), and managed to persuade them to install 56 Schwegler 25A 'Swift' bricks in the half of the estate built in 2015. The first half of the estate was built in 2014 and did not receive any nest bricks. There are 21 properties with either two or three nest bricks.

House Sparrows soon moved in and then three pairs of Starlings and a pair each of Great and Blue Tits. In a survey carried out in 2022, 41 of the 56 bricks showed signs of occupancy, mainly by House Sparrows.

Swifts were not confirmed as nesting on the estate until this year but likely nested last year as a couple of Swifts were seen repeatedly flying up to a particular nest brick occupied by House Sparrows and screaming on a few days in late May 2026. By 3rd June, the Swifts were in residence in this nest brick and I assume that they had either nested in it previously or selected it last year as a nest site for this year. Since then, we have seen Swifts flying in and out of five nest bricks and suspect that more may be occupied by Swifts. A flock of 14 Swifts was seen screaming around the estate last week while other birds were inside nest bricks. Residents of the estate say that they haven't noticed the screaming parties before this year, which to me indicates that nesting by Swifts is fairly recent here.

Therefore, although it was extremely upsetting that the original three pairs of Swifts lost their homes and there has been an interval of over ten years with no Swifts nesting on the site, there are now at least five pairs nesting on the same footprint and the potential for more to take up residence. Red-listed House Sparrows and Starlings have been making good use of the nest bricks in the meantime. The estate will now be used as an example for other building projects on the Isle of Wight to show how important nest bricks are for building-dependent species.

I am still amazed that the developer agreed to install 56 nest bricks and not just a token few. This experience has shown me that it is possible for a lot of good to come out of a depressing situation whereby three pairs of Swifts lost their nest sites.

If the school is to be demolished and replaced with new housing or other buildings, I would suggest pushing for as many nest bricks as possible to be installed.

Attached are a few photos showing the part of the old school where the Swifts were nesting under the roof overhang, properties with three nest bricks and with two.

Best wishes

Caroline Dudley

Wight Swifts

[Sally Gillard]

Hi Caroline,

That's incredibly helpful, thank you!  The future of the Victorian building, where the swifts are nesting, is uncertain.  We are not sure if it will be demolished and the whole site redeveloped.  My colleague, David Guyoncourt, is writing to the current owners and is liaising with our local councillor.  I was encouraged that the developer was so keen to help and that some swifts have started nesting again on the site.  That is a very positive outcome.  

I have received advice from Jerry and Susan Pride (Harwell Swifts) and an ecologist they know has said any site where swifts are nesting can at best be made into a Local Wildlife Site, but that does not afford much protection against the planning authorities.

We have our Swift Walk tonight as part of the SAW events and I hope to galvanise support of the local community so that we can survey the site and try to establish how many swifts are nesting there.

Have a good SAW and I hope your swift season is going well.

Best wishes,

Sally

Sally Gillard

Abingdon Swifts

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