Swifts in parliamentary spotlight

For past week or two been catching up on Springwatch, yesterday watched the penultimate episode which am sure you will all seen on the guy who has been making Swift nest boxes for a long time and has made 26k+ boxes and is hoping to reach 50k. So there doesn't seem any point in me writing to the BTO about our topic. The guy deserves a medal!

Interesting that this topic has appeared.  Today I ringed four nestling Swifts which were in an artificial Site.  They were wooden nest boxes specifically designed for the species.  Incidentally they were on a house less than half a mile from Sir Edward Leigh's home!

Probably right Pete. I'll contact BTO and see what they have to say.

Perhaps providing swift nest boxes is not as simple as it sounds. 

Maybe the BTO could get involved.

Thank you, Pete - point noted about Portugal and Spain where it's even hotter.

But in the Commons debate on Monday, Bristol MP Kerry McCarthy said this:

"Last year, because the heatwave made the bricks too hot, there was a real problem with fledglings trying to leave before they were ready to fly. All around the country, local groups rescued swifts; my sister cared for 17. I remember going down to Sidcup to pick up her daughter from university, and as the three of us sat outdoors at a Sri Lankan restaurant, there was a swift on the other chair being fed crickets—it had to be fed every hour to keep it alive. My sister did that while juggling three kids and working a full-time job."

This led me to believe that the artificial habit might not be quite right - especially if the bricks have been unwisely located so that they face south.  

I understand that somewhere between north- and east- facing is best.

Pleased to hear about D-o-B Church. It would be good if  the RSPB, with its huge membership as volunteer surveyors , could establish an annually-updated register of all cathedrals, churches, chapels, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship where swifts nest.  This would complement its existing online Swift scanner website.