The Swifts at Adderley Church

Common Swift

Nest Boxes in The Church Tower

Swifts Nesting Boxes at Adderley Church

Adderley Church, in conjunction with Audlem Wildlife and Ecology Group (AWEG) have recently installed four nesting boxes for Swifts in the church tower

The Swift is a medium-sized aerial bird, which is a superb flyer. It feeds, bathes, sleeps and even mates on the wing rarely touching the ground apart from when it nests. Swifts are summer visitors to the UK, over-wintering in Africa, and migrating about 3400 miles twice a year. They arrive in the UK, usually in May, with the primary intention of breeding, before returning to Africa by August. These birds pair up for life and like to return to the same breeding site each year.

The number of Swifts in the UK have depleted drastically since the 1990's and best estimates suggest a 60% decline in their numbers between 1995 and 2020. In 2021 these birds were placed on the red list of conservation concern. Whilst the reasons for this distressing decline are not fully understood, one issue is thought to be a lack of suitable nesting sites in modern and renovated buildings. It has subsequently been discovered that the placing of nest boxes in church towers can be very successful in helping them.

Four boxes have been built and installed in the church tower, behind the louvres, so they will not be noticeable from the exterior of the church. Entrances have been cut into the existing netting so that the rest of the tower and church is still secure from other birds and creatures. The size and position of the entrance to the box should also deter other birds from using them. Swifts like to nest communally and so to initially draw in young birds (who won't have established their own breeding sites yet), a sound system playing Swift calls has been installed to attract them.

For anyone who has concerns about the mess they might make, Swifts are very clean birds with the parents generally eating their youngster's droppings (it is thought they get some mineral benefit from this) and the adults do not tend to defecate near their nesting sites.

Swifts might not be attracted into the nesting boxes immediately but hopefully, over the next few years, the boxes will be used and once Swifts have bred in them the birds should return annually. Other churches in Shropshire and Cheshire, as well as many more churches throughout the UK, have been successful with similar projects. We also know there are regular sightings of Swifts in the locality, especially in Market Drayton.

Finally, AWEG would like to thank Adderley Church for participating in this project and joining the fight to try and halt the decline of these special birds. A special mention also for John Roycroft, for his support and enthusiasm, and Trevor Boxall for building the boxes employing his excellent carpentry skills.