'HEROICS OF HIGHEST ORDER' IN BATTLE TO SAVE NESTING SWIFTS ON SHEFFIELD HOUSING ESTATE

Swifts - survey found 24 nesting sites on estate 

Many thanks to Joy Croot of the Swift Local Network who has provided this communication that is currently being shared by fellow SLN members up and down the country. Quite rightly, she describes it as "heroics and quick thinking of the highest order". 

Chet Cunago, who has been very active in Sheffield over the last two or three years, writes: 

On  June 16, we (the newly forming Sheffield Swift Network) had a tip off from a member of public concerned that a council housing estate in Handsworth in the city was to have major large scale roof renovations and that scaffolding was being erected in the middle of a decent-sized colony during swift nesting season.

 I shot up to the estate at dusk that night and soon found swifts trying to enter nests on two buildings which had already been scaffolded.

It was heartbreaking!

We contacted the ecology officer in charge, and, after many discussions over four days, frantic emails, a call to the ecology officer from the RSPB investigations team and threats of us reporting the offence to the police, the top layer of scaffold boards was eventually removed.

Then the penny dropped. I realised I would have to survey the whole estate (approximately 400 homes) before more scaffolding was erected, then get the nests logged and protected.

The city council agreed to work with us and provided me with a list of addresses that were due to be scaffolded, and we had a three-week window to log any nests found, and promises that works would not go ahead on those logged.

I had no experience of undertaking such a mammoth task, but had to try.

I put desperate pleas out on social media for volunteers and a wonderful band of 12 strangers from as far as Lincoln and Nottingham came forward. 

Sometimes there was just me surveying, and sometimes I had up to 8 volunteers, so planning the survey work daily has been a challenge!

In short, we have so far found approximately 24 nests.

And the council are delaying renovations on all properties with nests (six so far) until October.

 One night whilst surveying, I witnessed swifts re-entering the first building where scaffolding was forced to be taken down which was a wonderful moment of vindication...all the work was so worth it. 

The nest probably failed initially....but we were in time for the swifts to hopefully try again.

I met the ecology officer on site yesterday, and she has asked us to work on another project (1500 homes!) as soon as possible. 

We have to form a charity, with a constitution and public liability insurance... Which is a massive undertaking and heaps of form filling... But we WILL do it.

Credit where it is due, the eaves of all the re-roofed properties are going to be left open and intact. (No boxed-in soffits - thank God), so the renovations should not harm the colony long-term.

In fact, I witnessed three possible nest sites being prospected by swifts, and eaves entered on one of their completed properties.

Of course I passed on the info onto the ecology officer and congratulated them on such a brilliant decision in the hope of encouraging all future council works to be undertaken with swifts in mind.

Sadly, whilst surveying,  I have realised the scale of destruction on privately-owned properties on the estate. 

At least three out of four homes have boxed in plastic soffits. No life, no nests, and I am utterly convinced this is the major contribution for swift numbers crashing.

This is just one observation on one small estate in Sheffield.. How bad it is nationally I daren't even consider, but I'm sure you guys in SLN are already aware.

 The takeaway from this is the vital importance of survey work, and my new mantra (stolen from Andy Broadhurst at Derbyshire Swifts) is 'Survey, survey, survey'! 

If we do not know where nests are, we cannot protect them.