Following on from the results of the 2020 survey of the North Milton estate for Swifts and other urban birds, which we covered on our blog, Bob Lord and his team of surveyors have carried out a further survey this summer, 2021.
The results are very interesting and show that this summer 76% of the potential Swift nesting sites -installed when the blocks of flats were repaired by New Forest District Council in 2011/12 - are now being used by Swifts for nesting. And many of these nests were also occupied earlier in the season by Starlings and House Sparrows. Of the 87 Swift nest chambers that were installed at that time, 66 have been shown to be occupied by Swifts this year (76%).
The data from 2020 showed that 36 of the 87 chambers (41%) were occupied then, though the apparent increase this year may well be due to greater observer effort put in during 2021.
