Cambridge Swift Tower "Bird Scarer"

Contributed by Guy Belcher

As there is no mains power anywhere near the Swift Tower, we have decided to use a Bird Scarer, programmed with Swift attraction calls, powered by a 12 volt battery, recharged by a solar panel.

The system was configured by Martley Electronics of Worcester and comprises:

BS3 Bird scarer (programmed with Swift attraction calls)
Run off a 75ah 12V leisure battery with a 5 watt trickle feed solar panel.
There is a dawn/dusk light sensor and a 12V timer for maximum flexibility.
Unless the timer is set it plays 5 minutes durations of calls at random during daylight hours.
There is a volume control. 
The complete unit is weather proof.

Approx cost inc. delivery is   £450.00

The Cambridge Tower is up!

Photos by Bob Tonks:

Well, here it is in all its glory:

You can read all about it in the Cambridge News

and see this video about the tower by Cambridge Film Consortium and the the children.

And the back is just as interesting as the front:

Swift Tower latest

The boxes are being installed! Watch this space for more updates.

Swifts and Churches in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire

Contributed by Chris Mason

In April nest boxes were installed in the tower of St Swithun’s Parish church Merton, on the edge of Otmoor near Oxford. The work was done by members of the Cherwell Swifts Conservation Project which is publicising the decline in our Swift population, and the reasons for it, in the towns and villages of North Oxfordshire.

St Swithun’s Merton already has one or two pairs of Swifts, which nest under the eaves of the nave, and as the church is thought to be the last remaining nest site for Swifts in the village, the Parochial Church Council readily agreed to the installation of the nest boxes. We are hoping that the boxes will help add to their number.

The Cherwell project has recently forged a link with the local Diocese. There are still churches around the district which have nesting Swifts, but as elsewhere these are at risk when repair work has to be done on the church building. The Diocese has now agreed to consider how a system can be established to ensure that traditional Swifts’ nest sites are taken into account when repairs are being planned. This is not just to fulfil the legal obligation not to disturb nesting birds, but also to make sure that advice is obtained about undertaking ‘out of season’ repairs in a Swift-friendly way. 

The Diocese has also helped to publicise the idea that Swift nest boxes can be installed in church towers. Recently the Bishop of Dorchester visited the tower of St Mary’s church in Kirtlington near Oxford, where some years ago Action for Swifts installed nest boxes

This photograph was used in a feature article encouraging other churches in the Diocese to consider installing Swift nest boxes. It appeared in the March edition of The Door (the local Diocesan newspaper).

Chris Mason
mason@cando.eclipse.co.uk

Cambridge Swift Tower - varnishing

Painting 221 boxes with 1 coat of stain and 3 coats of varnish is quite an undertaking. However, if you get enough volunteers on the job, it is surprising how quickly it gets done.

Here is a picture of Dick Newell with granddaughter Katie with paintbrush in hand:

The Tesco Swift Tower, Crumlin, Northern Ireland

Contributed by Brian Cahalane

We asked Brian if he would write a piece about how he went about the Swift Tower in Crumlin, telling us of the challenges and successes along the way - here it is:

The Crumlin Tower is erected

I wrote to Sir Terence Leahy, CEO of Tesco PLC. explaining the plight of the swift throughout the British Isles and to ask if he would consider the erection of a Swift Tower at Tesco's new store which was due to open in my home town, Crumlin Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Only a short time elapsed when I was delighted to receive a letter from Sir Terence, who was sympathetic to my proposals.

Discussions began with Mr Lewis Carlish (Property Services Store Manager) who was extremely helpful from the start, and Mr Gerard Crosbie the store manager. A few concerns such as height of the tower and materials were quickly resolved and so the project began.

CCTV monitoring of a Swift colony

Contributed by Dick:

One of the Swift cabinets on my house, with 9 chambers (on the left), overlooks my neighbour's garden. I cannot see it from my own property. Last year, I would stand on her lawn for over an hour at a time to monitor what was going on.

This year, I have installed a CCTV camera (from a disused tit box) that has all 9 entrances in its field of view. Further, I have bought SecuritySpy motion detection software for my Mac. I can now review several hours of elapsed time in a few minutes. This clip shows a two hour session in the evening with all 10 birds coming in to roost.



I am quite impressed with SecuritySpy, When it detects motion, it records a specified number of seconds before and after the event. I have set this to 1 second.

The only problems that I have encountered are such thing as spiders wrapping their webs around the camera, moving shadows as the sun shines through the leaves of the trees onto the box, and the occasional video glitch. The last of these is greatly reduced by shutting down everything on the computer, except for the video capture software.

I have used Quicktime to edit the results to remove these unwanted parts of the recording - it is very easy to use.

Herringswell Church, Suffolk

Contributed by Dick Newell, photos by Judith Wakelam

We were asked by Robin Upton, local farmer, Swift enthusiast and church supporter to come and advise about Swift boxes in the belfry of St Ethelbert church, Herringswell. The belfry looked less than suitable, as there are no louvres, however, the eaves under the roof of the south transept looked an ideal opportunity.

John Stimpson, of Wilburton was commissioned to make 4 boxes, based upon the Zeist box, custom built to fit between the joists extending beneath the eaves. Swift call playing equipment has been installed by Robin inside the church behind the boxes.

In any nest boxing scheme, such as this, it is important not to affect the external appearance of such an old building. This has been achieved.

[UPDATE 2014: the boxes have been increased with an additional 12 boxes under the chancel eaves]
[UPDATE 2018: 2 of the 12 boxes under the chancel eaves are occupied]

#openeaves

Cambridge Swift tower erection!

The Cambridge City Council Swift Tower support structure has arrived on site ready for erection.

Cambridge Swift Tower - steelwork

Contributed by Guy Belcher

More progress - this is a picture of the steel framework which will hold 221 boxes, about 100 available for Swifts and 10 for bats.

The steel framework is now being sent to Corby for galvanizing.

Replacing a lost colony in Potton (Beds)

Contributed by Jake and Helen

A building in Potton which had a Swift colony was pulled down recently. The young woman in the photo, Tracey, agreed to have a couple of Zeist-style boxes on her property, which is close to the site of the lost colony. Seeing that breeders will arrive shortly and find their homes destroyed, she hopes to draw their attention to the new homes in the two boxes by playing the CD lure, starting right away.
If Tracey gets a good response, we have agreed to increase the accommodation, either with more single boxes, or more probably with a multi-compartment cabinet. Tracey's neighbours will also be watching.  If her nest-boxes are successful, at least one has expressed interest in putting up  boxes on her own house.

St Mary, Longstowe

Contributed by Dick, photos by Bob

Before installation

We were asked to look at St Mary by local resident Anthony Clay because a colony of Swifts had been inadvertently destroyed in the vicarage nearby.

The slate louvres were quite deep, so we decided to build boxes behind the openings above the louvres. We thought this quite a good place as Swifts often explore possibilities high up in the louvres first.

For the first arch, in the west, we tried fitting the shape of the arch from measurements and photographs and it took a number of iterations to get it right. We now know that it is far easier to get a large sheet of paper trimmed to the arch and then to mark out the positions of boxes and entrances, as one can see the shadows of the openings through the translucent paper. This we did for the second arch on the north side.

One of the boxes, proudly held by Bob

Here is a picture of Bob Tonks holding the final masterpiece.

The boxes are made of 12mm Far Eastern plywood, which is weather proof. Marine ply has become extremely expensive in recent months, and right now, there is none in stock anywhere.

Boxes on the west side

Here is a picture  of the boxes on the west side in their final position. If and when the boxes become occupied, we will then insert inspection doors in the back. As it is now, the boxes can only be inspected at the end of the season, when the Swifts have gone, by taking the whole back off.

A view of the boxes on the north side.
Photo anthony Clay

You can just see the 4 boxes at the top of
the louvres in this west elevation

Magrath Avenue Swift Street Party

Wills and Kate provided a great backdrop for the Magrath Avenue Swift Street Party. Masses of food & drink, a Swift mobile, and nestboxes were on show, as was the continuous sound of screaming Swifts. The booklet 'I am a Swift' was on sale. A great time was had by all, with many people asking questions of the attendant local Swift "experts" Jake Allsop, Bill Murrells,Helen Hodgson, Bob Tonks and Dick & Vida Newell.

The major outcome was about 15 residents wanting Swift boxes on their houses.

Cambridge Swift Tower Progress

Another step forwards, the foundations are now covered up.

Swift nest box entrances

Contributed by Dick:

[Update 2017: since writing this piece, we now recommend an entrance 28mm x 65mm, as some determined Starlings can squeeze into 30mm x 65mm]

Size of entrance
An entrance should let Swifts in and keep other species out, particularly Starlings. If an entrance with width equal to depth, e.g. circular or square, allows Swifts to enter, then Starlings can probably enter too. Conversely any such entrance small enough to keep Starlings out, may make life difficult for Swifts.

Schwegler 1MF

Some commercial boxes, such as the Schwegler 1MF double box and the Schwegler 16 have 45mm entrances that Starlings can easily enter.

Even our hero, Edward Mayer, recommends a home made box with a 45mm circular entrance, which Starlings will love. If you like Starlings, and we do, then put up boxes for them, but well away from any nesting Swifts, as Starlings can get aggressive during the brief period before their young have fledged and after the first breeding Swifts have arrived.

Breaking News: Cambridge Swift Tower breaks ground

The foundations of the Cambridge Swift Tower are in: 3 piles supporting a triangle of reinforced concrete beams, now waiting for the supporting structure.

A Swift Tower is Created

When we received pictures from Edward Mayer of a Swift Tower erected in Andover, based on some concepts that have been displayed on Edward's website that we had put together some time ago, we felt extremely gratified, and indeed proud, that someone had gone to the trouble of realising our dreams. As a result we invited Terry Verney to give us an account of what he and his team had been up to:

"Back in the autumn of 2010 the chief executive of the Hawk Conservancy Trust asked me to think Swift Towers. Not wishing to appear ignorant of the subject I did some research on the internet having been given the website swift-conservation.org. I was hoping to find drawings giving sizes of the tower but was disappointed to find a concept drawing only. Reading further on I found the recommended size of a nest chamber and the entrance hole size.

The AfS Polo Shirt

Contributed by Jake

[UPDATE: we are afraid that we have sold out of polo shirts]

We just took delivery of 20 polo shirts (see attached pic). They are superb quality - pure Fruit of the Loom cotton - and the logo and legend are crisp and clear. If this doesn't raise the public profile of our efforts for Swifts, I will eat my concave.
I have shirts in the following sizes:S, M, L, XL and XXL. Clearly with a small initial order like this, the unit cost is higher. I paid just short of £300 for them, which includes unit cost, setup costs and VAT.  So I think a price of £15 per shirt is reasonable (p and p add £2.56). Let me know if you want one (email, or call me on 07749 898797).
If we get a good response, it is an easy matter to order more, hopefully with a larger quantity and a reduction in unit cost.
Money: I transferred £300 to the Action for Swifts Community Bank Account, so cheques in payment should be made out to Action for Swifts, not to me. 
 
Get beautiful, get noticed, get an AfS polo shirt!

Mrs Nichols' House Restoration Project

Contributed by Helen:

This is a heartening story demonstrating that house restoration doesn’t have to mean disaster for resident wildlife. Thanks to the thoughtfulness of Mrs Nichols, returning swifts were not deprived of their historic nesting site. Mrs Nichols has, for the past two years or so, been restoring her home, a handsome listed house in the Norfolk countryside.

Royal Wedding Swift Street Party

Here is a great way to celebrate the Royal Wedding between HRH Prince William and Catherine Middleton. With one week to go before the expected arrival of Swifts in Cambridge, the residents of Magrath Avenue have decided to hold a street party, one of 34 street parties to be held in the City. Apart from tea and cakes, there will be promotional displays including nest-boxes, swift mobiles and booklets. Local Swift experts will be on hand to answer questions.