Re: [SLN] Digest for swiftslocalnetwork@googlegroups.com - 2 updates in 2 topics

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Edward Mayer

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Aug 9, 2026, 6:11:36 AMAug 9
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Pointing the speakers at the sky is a good idea, it cuts down noise to neighbours but it reaches Swifts overflying!

On 09-Aug-26 7:58 AM, swiftsloc...@googlegroups.com wrote:
Rowena Baxter <rowena...@yahoo.co.uk>: Aug 08 09:12AM

The calls from a swift inside a nest hole are not very loud to our ears and would not seem to travel far.  But swifts foraging nearby or nest site seeking seem to be able to home in on it, so their hearing must be reasonably acute.  It seems to me that playing swift calls at minimal volume could stop the annoyance problem but it might however take longer to attract swifts if there are no colonies nearby.  In my experience, persistence pays off and the calls do not have to be loud at all if neighbours are sensitive.
Rowena Baxter
 
 

 
On Friday, 7 August 2026 at 19:43:40 BST, alofanglia <alis...@alofanglia.plus.com> wrote:

Yes it’s like pubs with live music if there is a complaint then they can be shut down. Similarly in our area of Devon someone complained about a church clock that has chimed through the night for 400 years and the church were told to stop it. A compromise was reached in the end.I set up a caller system recently and stupidly had it on a loud volume and was turning it down to background level but the neighbour soon appeared and moaned. Should have started quiet and turned it up until it was at background level. I have an app which measures the decibels so on churches I’ve used 40 decibels at the graveyard edge or the other way is to use Merlin and have swifts coming in second place to other birds.The sound is quite directional too so maybe consider mounting it away from neighbours or perhaps try pointing it upwards? Although not ideal swifts will come and have a look and hopefully find your boxes while exploring the eaves.Lastly using a digital timer gives options so have the caller on in short bursts when people are at work or days when they’re not in the garden.Good luck and callers work my nearest colony was about 1 mile away and got my pair after about 3 years. Keep going !Alistair Kingsteignton Swifts Sent from my iPhone
 
On 5 Aug 2026, at 12:48, Dick Newell <dick....@gmail.com> wrote:
 
 
 
Hello Caroline,Regardless of what the law says, one doesn't want to fall out with one's neighbours. You seem to have a particularly irritable neighbour.Usually one can find times of day and an acceptable sound volume to keep everyone on side. You don't have to blast the calls out full volume to be successful. Your environmental health technician, clearly doesn't know what he is talking about, but he is right that most Swifts have gone now.Dick
 
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026, 10:46 drcaroline...@gmail.com, <drcaroline...@gmail.com> wrote:
 
Can anyone advise me what the laws around noise are please? I’ve run into problems playing my swift caller. Are the laws countrywide or vary from Council to Council? How is an assessment made of whether a noise is a nuisance? Is there a decibel limit? I had a half hour conversation yesterday with a Senior Environmental Health Technician who had been out after complaints from 2 neighbours (one has a lot of previous history including getting the police to visit another neighbour on 2 occasions after her sons accidentally kicked a football into her garden). He said it was the repetitive nature and playing calls at the same time each day and too loudly but wouldn’t tell me if there was a noise limit. He also told me I shouldn’t want swifts in my eaves as they cause a lot of mess, there was no point in trying to attract any as there weren’t any nearby, and they’d all left now anyway. And when I was trying to get out of him what would be acceptable for next year then just to not bother.It seemed a very subjective assessment which is what is annoying me….. Also, I have other people in Newcastle playing calls who may also run into problems.Thanks-Caroline
 
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John Parrott <johnpa...@gmail.com>: Aug 08 07:21AM

I have been struggling to determine which of my nest-boxes are occupied. I’ve experimented with a few methods, all of which have pros and cons.
Direct observations of Swifts coming and going are very time-demanding.
Motion-activated trail cameras fitted inside next-boxes provide a detailed (but retrospective) record of all activity at the end of the season when the SD can be retrieved.
Online cameras installed inside nestboxes allow the behaviour of parents and chicks to be monitored in real time 24/7 throughout the breeding season. Technologically challenging and relatively expensive.
Observations of poo below nests … I’ve found it’s tricky to tell which nests droppings have come from.
Thermal imaging binoculars and cameras are perhaps useful in some situations, but they are quite expensive.
What are other observers using?
 
John
 
John Parrott, The Old School, Errogie, Inverness IV2 6UH. M: 07799 728768
 
________________________________
From: swiftsloc...@googlegroups.com <swiftsloc...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: 08 August 2026 07:58
To: Digest recipients <swiftsloc...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [SLN] Digest for swiftsloc...@googlegroups.com - 4 updates in 3 topics
 
swiftsloc...@googlegroups.com<https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email#!forum/swiftslocalnetwork/topics> [Google Groups logo] <https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email/#!overview> Google Groups<https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email/#!overview>
Topic digest
View all topics<https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email#!forum/swiftslocalnetwork/topics>
 
* Noise from swift callers - 2 Updates
* Swift bricks in Scotland - update - 1 Update
* Update on Broughton House Kirkcudbright - 1 Update
 
Noise from swift callers <http://groups.google.com/group/swiftslocalnetwork/t/55103beab4b8e86c?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email>
alofanglia <alis...@alofanglia.plus.com>: Aug 07 07:43PM +0100
 
Yes it's like pubs with live music if there is a complaint then they can be shut down. Similarly in our area of Devon someone complained about a church clock that has chimed through the night for 400 years and the church were told to stop it. A compromise was reached in the end.
 
I set up a caller system recently and stupidly had it on a loud volume and was turning it down to background level but the neighbour soon appeared and moaned. Should have started quiet and turned it up until it was at background level.
 
I have an app which measures the decibels so on churches I've used 40 decibels at the graveyard edge or the other way is to use Merlin and have swifts coming in second place to other birds.The sound is quite directional too so maybe consider mounting it away from neighbours or perhaps try pointing it upwards? Although not ideal swifts will come and have a look and hopefully find your boxes while exploring the eaves.
 
Lastly using a digital timer gives options so have the caller on in short bursts when people are at work or days when they're not in the garden.
 
Good luck and callers work my nearest colony was about 1 mile away and got my pair after about 3 years.
 
Keep going !
 
Alistair
 
Kingsteignton Swifts
 
Sent from my iPhone
 
On 5 Aug 2026, at 12:48, Dick Newell <dick....@gmail.com> wrote:
 

 
Hello Caroline,
 
Regardless of what the law says, one doesn't want to fall out with one's neighbours.
 
You seem to have a particularly irritable neighbour.
 
Usually one can find times of day and an acceptable sound volume to keep everyone on side. You don't have to blast the calls out full volume to be successful.
 
Your environmental health technician, clearly doesn't know what he is talking about, but he is right that most Swifts have gone now.
 
Dick
 
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026, 10:46 drcaroline...@gmail.com, <drcaroline...@gmail.com> wrote:
 
Can anyone advise me what the laws around noise are please? I've run into problems playing my swift caller. Are the laws countrywide or vary from Council to Council? How is an assessment made of whether a noise is a nuisance? Is there a decibel limit? I had a half hour conversation yesterday with a Senior Environmental Health Technician who had been out after complaints from 2 neighbours (one has a lot of previous history including getting the police to visit another neighbour on 2 occasions after her sons accidentally kicked a football into her garden). He said it was the repetitive nature and playing calls at the same time each day and too loudly but wouldn't tell me if there was a noise limit. He also told me I shouldn't want swifts in my eaves as they cause a lot of mess, there was no point in trying to attract any as there weren't any nearby, and they'd all left now anyway. And when I was trying to get out of him what would be acceptable for next year then just to not bother.
 
It seemed a very subjective assessment which is what is annoying me….. Also, I have other people in Newcastle playing calls who may also run into problems.
 
Thanks-Caroline
 
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alofanglia <alis...@alofanglia.plus.com>: Aug 07 08:00PM +0100
 
Just found this on . Gov.uk on noise pollution
 
govuk-opengraph-image-4196a4d6333cf92aaf720047f56cfd91b3532d7635fc21ebcf0d5897df6b5f77.png
 
Noise nuisances: how councils deal with complaints
 
www.gov.uk
 
Sent from my iPhone
 
On 7 Aug 2026, at 19:44, alofanglia <alis...@alofanglia.plus.com> wrote:
 
 Yes it's like pubs with live music if there is a complaint then they can be shut down. Similarly in our area of Devon someone complained about a church clock that has chimed through the night for 400 years and the church were told to stop it. A compromise was reached in the end.
 
I set up a caller system recently and stupidly had it on a loud volume and was turning it down to background level but the neighbour soon appeared and moaned. Should have started quiet and turned it up until it was at background level.
 
I have an app which measures the decibels so on churches I've used 40 decibels at the graveyard edge or the other way is to use Merlin and have swifts coming in second place to other birds.The sound is quite directional too so maybe consider mounting it away from neighbours or perhaps try pointing it upwards? Although not ideal swifts will come and have a look and hopefully find your boxes while exploring the eaves.
 
Lastly using a digital timer gives options so have the caller on in short bursts when people are at work or days when they're not in the garden.
 
Good luck and callers work my nearest colony was about 1 mile away and got my pair after about 3 years.
 
Keep going !
 
Alistair
 
Kingsteignton Swifts
 
Sent from my iPhone
 
On 5 Aug 2026, at 12:48, Dick Newell <dick....@gmail.com> wrote:
 

 
Hello Caroline,
 
Regardless of what the law says, one doesn't want to fall out with one's neighbours.
 
You seem to have a particularly irritable neighbour.
 
Usually one can find times of day and an acceptable sound volume to keep everyone on side. You don't have to blast the calls out full volume to be successful.
 
Your environmental health technician, clearly doesn't know what he is talking about, but he is right that most Swifts have gone now.
 
Dick
 
On Wed, 5 Aug 2026, 10:46 drcaroline...@gmail.com, <drcaroline...@gmail.com> wrote:
 
Can anyone advise me what the laws around noise are please? I've run into problems playing my swift caller. Are the laws countrywide or vary from Council to Council? How is an assessment made of whether a noise is a nuisance? Is there a decibel limit? I had a half hour conversation yesterday with a Senior Environmental Health Technician who had been out after complaints from 2 neighbours (one has a lot of previous history including getting the police to visit another neighbour on 2 occasions after her sons accidentally kicked a football into her garden). He said it was the repetitive nature and playing calls at the same time each day and too loudly but wouldn't tell me if there was a noise limit. He also told me I shouldn't want swifts in my eaves as they cause a lot of mess, there was no point in trying to attract any as there weren't any nearby, and they'd all left now anyway. And when I was trying to get out of him what would be acceptable for next year then just to not bother.
 
It seemed a very subjective assessment which is what is annoying me….. Also, I have other people in Newcastle playing calls who may also run into problems.
 
Thanks-Caroline
 
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Back to top<./#digest_top>
Swift bricks in Scotland - update <http://groups.google.com/group/swiftslocalnetwork/t/a42b9f6fb298d5e6?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email>
Mike Priaulx <michael...@yahoo.com>: Aug 07 10:54AM
 
Thanks John for highlighting this important Section 59 which controls the regulation start date.
 
 
 
 
All, for reference here's the link to the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026:
 
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2026/6/enacted
 
 
 
 
It's also at the end of the general link I sent on Wednesday, here again for easy access:
 
https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/s6/natural-environment-scotland-bill
 
 
 
 
The relevant section 33B in the Bill is now Section 41 in the Act.
 
 
 
 
There are no page numbers in this version, so do a word search for "Building" to find Section 41,
 
and search "Commencement" to find Section 59 that John also refers to.
 
 
 
 
So in summary:
 
 
 
 
For Section 41 the maximum 12 month period didn't start on 12/03/26 but actually it starts whenever Scottish Ministers deem it to start.
 
 
 
 
I am confident that Hannah/ Green Party/ RSPB & others who initiated this will be on the case making sure that start date is ASAP.
 
 
 
 
All the best,
 
Mike
 
 
 
 
Member of SLN Swifts & Planning Group
 
 
 
 
+++
 
 
 
 
Swift bricks in Scotland - update
 
johnswilson.15921 <johnswil...@blueyonder.co.uk>: Aug 06 01:03PM -0700
 
 
 
 
Following description of an “official notice” and “delay” the Scottish
 
Ministers letter of 30 July 2026 is not relevant to Section 41 of the Natural
 
Environment (Scotland) Act 2026. There will be a further letter.
Back to top<./#digest_top>
Update on Broughton House Kirkcudbright <http://groups.google.com/group/swiftslocalnetwork/t/939a65223b6e97cc?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email>
Cally Smith <huntlysw...@gmail.com>: Aug 07 10:05AM +0100
 
Thanks John
I will certainly take a fresh look at the guidance notes one of which i am
aware of. SNH is now Nature Scot. Nature Scot who state that 'swift bricks
have separate access for maintenance'.
https://www.nature.scot/doc/developing-nature-guidance Measure 13 - Homes
for small birds
They also state further down the document under ;future management; that
'swift bricks require annual cleaning'.
I did notice NatureScot do have a link to 'Swift Conservation'. I think an
email to Nature Scot to address a couple of issues is needed :)
 
What is needed is a brand new informed guidance on swifts and house martins
to be referred to across National Trust and National Trust Scotland. These
projects should never be at the mercy of one knowledgeable member of staff
or because there is a swift group nearby on watch, which seems to be the
case. Built Heritage also could do with some guidance.
 
Cally
 
 
On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 at 21:09, johnswilson.15921 <
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