Sarah has been involved in bird conservation for over a decade and started North Wiltshire Swifts in 2019 as a specialist project and advice group. Their aim is to preserve and boost existing swift populations in Wiltshire through nest box projects and support others to do so.

Sarah gave a really informative and entertaining talk about the ecology of this charismatic bird, how to install Swift boxes and campaign for all new-build homes to have Swift bricks incorporated from the start.

A staggering half of swifts have been lost since 1995 yet the causes are not well known. Suspected causes are climate change (more erratic weather affecting migration and nesting); global declines in insect abundance that have reduced their food source; and loss of nest sites as houses are retrofitted and nest cavities filled in, and old growth veteran trees are lost from our landscapes, reducing natural nesting sites.  

However, there is still much we can do to support Malmsbury’s Swifts.

The practical advice, hints and tips that Sarah had to offer on how to carry out a survey and ways to attract the birds to Swift boxes once they are installed will be hugely valuable as we launch our survey in Malmesbury.

She explained that Swifts often arrive in waves, with established breeders arriving earliest in May to return to existing nest sites. Swifts have high site fidelity and will return to the same nest year after year.  

Younger individuals that have not yet bred may then arrive in June/July, searching for new nest sites. This is an excellent opportunity to provide new nesting sites, and you can attract Swifts by playing Swifts calls from inside or close to the nest, which should attract their attention.

It may take a few years for a new Swift site to be noticed and occupied, so it is worth persevering.

There are several useful places to find out more about Swifts, including: different types of nest boxes, ideal locations and how to install them; guidance on Swifts and buildings/development; surveying for Swifts, and wildlife law:

• Swift-conservation.org
• Actionforswifts.blogspot.com
• Bristolswifts.co.uk
• Save our Swifts, Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins group on Facebook.

We will also use Swift Awareness Week 29^th June – 7^th July to further promote and support these fantastic birds in our town.

We were joined by professional ecologist Gareth Harris from the Wiltshire Mammal Group (and Wiltshire Bat Group but more of that later!). Gareth began the morning with some background ecology of beavers and some unavoidable humour to go with it!

Aided with handouts, photos and a great reference book we learned about beaver behaviour and what signs to look out for. 

Continuing along the river, we started to see overhanging willow branches that had clearly been ‘nibbled’ and then, lying next to the water’s edge a branch which had been cleaned of small shoots, the bark at the end had been stripped back slightly and, where it would have joined the main tree, a 45 degree cut with clearly visible tooth marks!

Members were spotting more and more small signs, hazel where one or two shoots had been removed, trunks with ‘scars’ on them where they had been chewed, a shoot with all the bark removed leaving it bright orange which indicated that the beaver had worked on it very recently and then finally, a trunk of a small tree with a clear 45 degree angle and chippings and sawdust scattered around the base.

We could not have had a better result. We now know that in the 2 years since Natural England carried out their research into beavers south of our region, they have travelled as far as Malmesbury and are starting to make this their home. We do not know how many there are and, on the small amount of river we could follow, did not find their lodge.

Beavers are a fully protected species. Not only is the animal protected but so is their lodge. They are strict vegetarians specialising in eating trees. Their preferred trees are aspen, willow, birch, ash, alder and apple but they will fell any tree if their favourites are not abundant. Therefore, if your property is close to or runs down to the river, and you have trees you particularly value, installing trunk guards might be a good investment.