Save our Swifts petition raised.

Thu 30 May 2019, 09:32

Thanks, Malcolm, for drawing attention to the Save-our-Swifts campaign. It would be great if Charlbury had a directive to planners to incorporate swift bricks into all new buildings. Yes, the first swifts returned in Church Street on 30th April this year, and they kept coming in the first two weeks of May. Eight swifts flying together in screaming parties is not a bad number at present -  these are juveniles, fledged last year. The breeding birds have returned to their old nests and are very discreet going in; they can fly to great heights and distances to feed. We should see larger groups of swifts in screaming parties when the new generation is fledged during July.

Tue 28 May 2019, 14:53

I counted only EIGHT the other evening outside The Bell. When we first moved here with the then little kids 13 years ago we practiced counting the swifts, using ethology "rule of thumb" and coming up with 5-6 score of them...

The other day I saw a buff-bummed bumblebee. The only one this year. We really are doing in the planetary ecosystem. Hope folks can deal with starvation, we've certainly been greedy enough...

Tue 28 May 2019, 10:19

Are the swifts back in Charlbury yet? I haven't seen any this year, but I don't live in the middle of town.

Mon 27 May 2019, 17:39 (last edited on Tue 28 May 2019, 08:03)

 To: Kit Malthouse MP -Housing Minister, Michael Gove MP - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Save our Swifts NP Campaign created by Norman Pasley

Legislate that all UK house builders shall install Swift bricks in all new-build homes, and give incentives for retrofitting nest boxes on older properties.

Why is this important?

Swifts numbers have declined across the UK by 53% between 1995 and 2016. By incorporating a Swift brick in all new houses we can save these beautiful birds.

On fine summer evenings Swifts gather in "low flying screaming parties" as they chase each other around the buildings where they nest.

Because they rely on eating insects, Swifts can only live in the UK for a short period in summer when insects are plentiful. Swifts migrate south to Africa in August and return to us in the following May.

Let's make sure we continue to have Swifts every summer.

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-our-swifts