Our Projects

Creating and preserving nestplaces for Swifts 111 New Cavendish St, London W1 gets Swift, Bird & Bat Boxes Bat "tubes" & a bird box inset into the wall Triple Swift nest box inside the plant room Plant room exterior with 6 bat tubes visible Swift, Pipistrelle Bat and Black Redstart / Wagtail nest places have been installed in the walls of roof top plant rooms high above Oxford Circus in Central London! The contractors, Faithdean plc, required a multi-species solution to improve biodiversity at this site to meet a Planning Requirement. Swift Conservation was asked to advise, and as a result five key urban species, all know to be present in or near the area, were selected for assistance; Swift, Pipistrelle Bat, Grey and Pied Wagtails, and Black Redstarts. By providing shelter plus food resources on an adjacent "green roof" it is hoped these species will move in and thrive.   Photos © Edward Mayer - Swift Conservation Lambeth Hospital & the London Borough of Lambeth Steven Robinson, a Community Psychiatric Nurse at the Lambeth Hopsital, was keen to see Swifts breeding there. With the help of Swift Conservation (who surveyed the site for nest box positions), Mitie, the Hospital's estates management team who fitted the boxes, and Lambeth Council's Parks & Green Spaces Team who obtained funding for the project from Veolia, he achieved his aim. Here you can see some of the boxes and the team fitting them to the walls of the ward blocks. Photographs left © Steven Robinson (SLaM) and right © Iain Boulton (London Borough of Lambeth) London Borough of Islington - Municipal Offices at Highbury & Islington Swift Conservation was invited by Leanne Brisland and Andrew Bedford of the London Borough of Islington to advise on establishing Swift nestplaces at their Municipal Offices at Highbury and Islington. The 10 double chamber Schwegler boxes, shown above, were fitted by the local building management team, and have been installed in time for the 2007 nesting season. Some Swifts are already nesting nearby, so the chances for occupation are excellent, especially if, as is hoped, a sound system is installed and used to attract the birds. Photos © Edward Mayer / Leanne Brisland ART - Arsenal Regeneration Team In Summer 2006 Swift Conservation was asked to view the new Emirates Stadium and the associated housing developments to establish whether Swift nest places could be installed there. We secured agreement to fit Schwegler's double nestboxes (shown on the left) under the deep shaded eaves of some of the apartments being built by Newlon and Kier. Photos © Quentin Given / Edward Mayer Zoological Society of London - ZSL London Zoo ZSL London Zoo invited Swift Conservation to advise on setting up Swift colonies at the Zoo in Regent's Park. We picked two sites, the wide shaded eaves of the "Bugs!" house and the Bear cave in the Mappin Terraces. Both were set up early in 2003, and Swift call recordings were played to attract the birds. The first Swifts visited the "Bugs!" nest boxes in late Summer 2004, and have bred ever since, with two pairs breeding this year, 2010. The boxes used are Schwegler types, available from Jacobi Jayne and Co.    Photos © Zoological Society of London and Edward Mayer. London Borough of Barnet - Notting Hill Housing Trust Local journalist Paul Harrison put together a pioneering project in New Barnet, bringing together Swift Conservation, the Notting Hill Housing Trust, the London Borough of Barnet and Higgins Contractors Ltd to achieve the Summer 2006 installation of Swift Brick nestboxes under the north-west facing eaves of this new community development on the corner of York Road and Gloucester Road. Photos © Edward Mayer. London Borough of Camden - Swiss Cottage Development The London Borough of Camden was keen to improve biodiversity at its major project at Swiss Cottage, designed by Terry Farrell Architects. Swift Conservation was asked to advise on the installation of Schwegler Swift Bricks (just visible above as small holes) into walls where they are suitably high up and sheltered from the sun. Photos © London Borough of Camden and Edward Mayer. London Borough of Camden - Camden Town Hall Extension We spotted Swifts flying over King's Cross rail station, and so Camden Council put up several of these twin-cavity Schwegler concrete boxes, funded by the RSPB, on their town hall extension's roof top plant room to see if they could attract the birds to breed. Here's Camden councillor Flick Rea advertising the boxes for home-seeking Swifts in Summer 2006. Photos © Edward Mayer and Quentin Given / London Borough of Camden. Canary Wharf - Canada Tower Nest Box Project Canary Wharf Group plc is involved in many projects to "green" the Docklands area. As part of this Swift Conservation was invited to survey the Canada Tower, where Swifts had been observed feeding, to see if breeding could be established. Nestboxes were designed by Swift Conservation, made by schoolchildren at Mudchute City Farm, and erected together with a sound system behind the roof-top louvres (above right). We hope Swifts will be attracted to breed at this famous site. . Photos © Edward Mayer. King's Cross - London - Richard Aumonier's Apartment London sculptor Richard Aumonier asked Swift Conservation to advise on setting up Swift nestboxes at his King's Cross home. Swifts already nested in the vicinity, and London's Swifts, as well as pinpointing suitable sites, provided a Swift calls CD to aid location of the boxes by local overflying birds. The photos above show the boxes, the first domestic Swift nestbox installation we know of in Central London. Photos © Richard Aumonier St Mary's Church Chantry House - Henley-on-Thames Oxley Conservation, the specialist building consultants managing this project, invited Swift Conservation to advise on ways to retain the locally-famous Swift colony during the works to replace the roof and completely repair and conserve this superb medieval building. Swift Conservation designed the temporary nesting eaves (see above right) which provided roosting space for the birds while works continued on the building. The roof was available again to the Swifts the following year, with their nests restored to the original eaves, and they enjoyed a successful breeding season. Much of the success of this project was due to the positive input and cooperation of the building contractors IJP Building Conservation. Photos © Edward Mayer. Private Dwellings - Henley-on-Thames Michael Shemilt, an art dealer who lives in Henley-on-Thames, and who was instrumental in raising awareness about the Swifts nesting in the Chantry House (see project above), sought Swift Conservation's advice about fitting Schwegler Swift nest boxes to both his home (above left) and also to the flat above his commercial premises (above right) in the centre of the town. Henley still has a good population of Swifts, and these nest places should ensure they have somewhere new to nest for many years to come, making up for losses caused by re-roofing and redevelopment elsewhere in the town. Photos © Michael Shemilt.   Derbyshire Wildlife Trust - Wren Nest Mill, Glossop This old stone-built mill is being converted into apartments. It has a large resident population of breeding Swifts, and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust was keen to see them protected. Swift Conservation was asked to provide advice, and liaised with all parties to formalise, make safe and retain the existing nests, which are all accessed via defects in the pointing. Photos © Helen Perkins/Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. Our advisory work abroad The Isle of Elba, Italy We gave a series of talks and lectures on Elba during 2009, and the results have been excellent. Two municipalities agreed to take measures to protect Swifts, and also House Martins, Swallows and Bats too.  One municipality, Marciana, a village set high up in the Elban hills, has just this year, 2010, passed an ordinance forbidding the sealing up of eaves and tile ends. It is this modern practice in particular which has deprived Swifts and Bats of countless nest places, while also creating unforeseen humidity problems within the roofspaces, causing rot and mould damage to ancient timbers. Alcudia near Valencia, Spain Major restoration work to the ancient heart of this town threatened to eliminate most nest places used by Swifts. The Alcudia Swift Campaign, set up and run by Jorge Sanz, sought assistance in protecting the local Swift population.With advice from Swift Conservation, a rescue campaign was mounted with the participation of local citizens, schools, and institutions, as well as the media, some old nest sites were saved, and many nest boxes were set up to provide alternative nest places. Photos © Jorge Sanz. City of Perugia - Italy Plans to restore much of the historic heart of this town, and as an unintended result, eliminate most Swift nest places, were questioned by local citizens who sought help from Swift Conservation, amongst other conservation bodies. We provided the City Architect and local activists with information and designs to assist in retaining and creating nest places in restored buildings. Need advice? For more information contact Swift Conservation Next - Education, Training and Surveys             Back to Contents