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 Cllr Greg Foxsmith on the lookout for swifts |
Call of the wild: Bird screams lure swifts to nest boxes
A CUNNING ploy is being used to trick birds into nesting at Islington offices.
A speaker blasts out the screams of swifts from the roof of a council office building in Upper Street from 4pm to 8pm.
The hope is that the screams – audible from the street – will attract passing swifts to move into new nest boxes.
The number of swifts visiting London has declined as a result of building renovations which seal off roofs and walls, preventing them nesting.
Lib Dem environment chief Councillor Greg Foxsmith said: “Swifts are amazing migrant birds and a welcome addition to Islington. We’re constantly striving to create a greener borough, and encouraging birds, including swifts, to nest in Islington is just one way of doing this.”
A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said that almost half the UK nesting population of swifts had been lost in the last 10 years.
“As well as protecting existing swift nest sites, efforts like those on the Islington Council building to create
new ones may also help our summer visitors,” the spokesman
added. “Playing swift calls will create an impression that there is already a colony in residence and will hopefully attract newcomers to the swift boxes the council has put in place.”
He added: “Hopefully, the people of Islington will be able to enjoy the screams of the swifts signalling summer for many years to come.”
With help from Transport for London funding, Islington Council has placed almost 300 new nest boxes in trees, parks, schools and estates. |
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