Ron Cooke has now sent in his records from the Swift boxes within his core area of Regents Park, Southampton. He takes his boxes down at the end of each season and puts them back up in mid-April the following year, as that not only makes the boxes last longer, but also prevents House Sparrows taking occupation before the Swifts return. The results show that the number of occupied boxes has remained the same as last year at 35. An additional 4 boxes were installed during the year, going up from 40 to 44. One box had to be removed as the house was sold and sadly the new owner didn’t want the box. It’s possible that that that pair then moved to the adjacent house where there was a spare box.
Ron tells me that he’s very pleased with the result and that anecdotal evidence from house owners with boxes outside the core area points to an expansion with reports of birds entering/prospecting on at least 4 new properties. It is hoped that these will be surveyed properly next year. If you live in the Southampton and think that you would like to help then please do contact Hampshire Swifts at info@hampshireswifts.co.uk
Regents Park, Southampton | 2021 total no. of boxes | 2020 boxes occupied | 2021 boxes occupied |
King George's Avenue | 8 | 6 | 5 |
Prince of Wales Avenue | 28 | 24 | 24 |
Westfield Road | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| 44 | 35 | 35 |
Dear BTO part 6...
Dear BTO, no sign of insect decline being the cause of the catastrophic decline of Swifts. Hint – it’s actually loss of nesting sites that is the major cause. Lots more Citizen Science to follow…
Please correct your website.
Tim Norriss – BTO member
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