Madam,

Swifts visit us each summer along with similar though not related birds such as swallows and house martins.

They are easily told apart by their larger size, direct rapid flight in groups often accompanied by their screaming call. To many they epitomise the sound of summer.

Swift numbers are undergoing a drastic collapse, unfortunately, with only half the birds arriving in the UK over recent summers compared with those of the 1990s.

Part of this decline is down to swifts losing their nesting sites, as they prefer older buildings that provide the necessary nooks and crannies. Part of the species survival is therefore down to us helping to provide available nest sites.

Myself and several others in the area keep a look out for swift colonies with a view to conserving them or by providing special ‘swift boxes’ or ‘swift bricks’ to encourage them to nest in buildings.

One such swift colony observed and recorded is that at Aberduar Baptist Chapel in Llanybydder. I would like to thank the members and congregation of the chapel for carrying out recent renovations in such a way that should allow the swifts to continue to access their nest sites in future.

This action has been achieved through consultation with myself and Tony Clark of Bow Street (a fellow swift enthusiast) and the chapel authorities, and involved suspending the work for the summer until the swifts departed back to Africa. This was at considerable expense to the chapel for which we are most grateful.

Hopefully actions such as this at Aberduar will mean that swifts continue to be seen in the skies of west Wales by future generations

Yours etc,

Anthony Herron, Llanwnnen.

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