We’re looking forward to having some new feathered tenants at our Gladstone Place office in 2023. Thanks to a fantastic St Albans initiative to help halt the decline of the UK swift population, we are now hosting (or should that be housing) several swift nesting boxes.
As traditional nesting sites such as tall old buildings with plenty of nooks and crannies become scarcer, conservationists are looking for ways to give swifts an alternative home.
The Swift Action initiative is led by Wilderhood Watch and supported by both St Albans BID and the St Albans City & District Council. Local charity Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust helped the initiative get off the ground by identifying 30 sites that are suitable for the swift nest boxes as part of the Wilder St Albans campaign. Funding from the BID and the Council has ensured that the nest boxes can be purchased and installed at these sites.
It will help this project if more St Albans businesses offer homes to nest boxes in time for the next breeding season. The Swift Action team are also hoping to inspire neighbours to install multiple nest boxes on houses in their streets, making St Albans a prime destination for these truly incredible birds.
‘We are really pleased that SA Law have been able to offer a nesting box site for swifts’, said Marilyn Bell, Head of Family at SA Law and a member of the St Albans BID Board. ‘These birds are fabulous to watch but are endangered, particularly by loss of their habitats in urban areas.’
The swift nest boxes have been installed on the side of our premises that runs alongside Beaumonds retirement housing. We hope the residents will enjoy seeing the swifts as much as we will.
You can find out more about Swift Action by visiting Swift Action – WilderhoodWatch