Our Swifts are amazing! They are iconic birds of our summers and every year they fly all the way back from Africa to make a nest and raise their young. That’s about 7000 miles one way! They are insectivorous – they only eat aerial insects – and are really important for the planet, managing our insect populations naturally so that our food can grow, and protecting us from certain diseases.
Swifts need our help because in the modern world they depend upon our buildings for places to nest, but they are in serious decline in the UK largely because they are being prevented from accessing these sites as we renovate our homes.
To help conserve our Swift population here in the Strettons Church Stretton library has had six swift bricks installed, generously grant funded by Stretton Focus. Swift bricks provide a permanent nest site, integrated into the building as a self-contained apartment. Hopefully juvenile Swifts that are looking for a new place to nest will hear the call attraction system that library staff are playing throughout the summer and investigate these new cavities. In time they may even breed.
Many thanks to Stretton Focus, Shropshire Council and the library staff for supporting this community project and welcoming people and nature to this special building.
