Shanklin United Reformed Church has partnered with Hampshire Swifts to help create a new nesting site for these wonderful birds that urgently need new homes. Robin Harley – who works as a Conservation Officer for Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch Council – contacted his cousin Rev Brian Harley when he spotted that the church in Shanklin has a clock tower with a bell chamber. Nesting boxes have been installed in a few church towers in Hampshire over recent years, and these provide a wonderful safe high place for the birds to breed. He and Bob Lord from the Hampshire group came over to check out the feasibility of an installation and then returned in April to fit a box with three nesting spaces. These are attached behind the wooden louvres at the top of the tower above the clock where the bell is housed (they don’t mind the deafening noise apparently!). If this proves a success, more boxes may be added in 2025. Bob commented:
“Our Swift population nationwide is in trouble and declining. Swifts have adapted to living amongst us in holes in buildings, but these are being blocked-up as we move from timber to UPVC fittings – and these don’t shrink and crack, creating small nooks-and-crannies for wildlife. New artificial spaces are needed if we want to save our swifts. “In Shanklin, there are a few swifts in the town during their breeding season (May to August) and now, the United Reformed Church, in partnership with Hampshire Swifts is helping to boost the number of spaces available for them. “A box containing 3 nest spaces has been fitted in the tower, and a call-player has also been installed, which acts as a lure to attract birds. So, if you are in the vicinity of the church building in the High Street during the summer, keep your eyes peeled, look up and listen. You may be lucky enough to see and hear swifts taking up residence.”
Minister, Rev Brian Harley, added:
“As a church, we are delighted to be doing our bit to help wildlife thrive. In the town centre, we don’t have any land, so it is great that we can offer a high-level safe nesting place for these tidy, clean birds. “They are part of God’s beautiful diverse creation. As Psalm 24 says: ‘the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it’.”
Brilliant, hope they move in soon!