Swifts statement

Introduction
Swifts (Apus apus) are summer visitors to London. They arrive in early May and leave by the end of August for their wintering areas in southern Africa. Originally cliff and crag nesters, they have adapted to thrive in the built environment. They are still widely distributed in the Capital, relying on free access to spaces within roofs to build their nests. Swifts have declined in the UK, with an estimated national loss of about 20% in the last ten years.



The significance of the decline remains unknown although it is believed to be accelerating. Swifts are very difficult to census and definitive data are still unavailable. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the built-up areas of Greater London exemplify this worrying .

Conservation Considerations
Small colonies of swifts occur in most parts of London, often in pre-war social housing or in Edwardian and Victorian terraces and villas, where the open eaves or soffits provide easy access to the loft space. Other favoured sites are in derelict or poorly maintained industrial buildings, where holes arising from disrepair may also provide space for a nest. Most of the Capital's post-war and modern buildings have sealed roofs that cannot house swifts, leaving only the older buildings to nest in. However, as London's pre-war building stock is renovated, re-roofed and insulated, or demolished and replaced, these existing nesting opportunities are steadily disappearing.

Although swifts, their nests and eggs are legally protected by the Wildlife & Countryside Act, frequent nest destruction is feared likely, as re-roofing work commonly takes place during the swifts' nesting season. The law here is particularly difficult to enforce, and compliance is largely reliant on the goodwill of householders and the building trade in particular.

Swifts efficiently chase-down insects in flight and changes in land use may be reducing their food availability through development or pollution of important feeding habitats, such as wetlands, grasslands and brownfield sites.

Swift populations will become increasingly threatened if special measures are not taken to ensure their future well-being. However, they are only with us for part of the year and the condition of their winter environment is a further important factor over which we have very little control.

Further Reading
London's Swifts (website - www.londons-swifts.org.uk)
Hewlett J (Ed.), (2002). The Breeding Birds of the London Area. LNHS
Wotton S R, et al. (2002). Homes for birds: the use of houses for nesting by birds in the UK, in British Birds, Vol. 95 (11), pp. 586-592
RSPB Conservation Planner October 2004 issue RSPB (2002) Swifts. Information leaflet
RSPB (2004) Concern for Swifts. Information leaflet

Contact
The contact for this Statement is London Swifts
Edward Mayer

Tel: 020 7794 2089
Email: [email protected]