Swifts by Sophie Streeter from the Hastings and Rother Swift Conservation Group.

The Friends were treated to an excellent and informative talk about Swifts yesterday. Sophie Streeter is a volunteer with the Hastings and Rother Swift conservation group – a group of volunteers dedicated to raising awareness of the plight of the Swift. Their aim is to protect and enhance the traditional nesting sites of these iconic summer visitors and to establish new nesting sites where appropriate in the Hastings and Rother area of East Sussex. They will also advise on the supply and installation of Swift nest bricks, soffit boxes and call systems. In December 2021, the Swift moved to the RED LIST of Highest Conservation Priority, as very sadly these beautiful birds are in trouble with a 58% drop in breeding numbers in just 25 years.
The talk to The Friends was beautifully illustrated with stunning images and videos of Swifts flying, catching food, roosting, nest box camera’s etc. I think we were all amazed at seeing young Swifts doing ‘press-ups’ to strengthen their wings before leaving the next box!
Sophie shared her in-depth knowledge of facts and information about Swifts and talked about the various ways in which we humans can help this species that is at risk of extinction in the UK. All in all a very interesting and inspirational talk.

For further information see

https://e-voice.org.uk/hastingsandrotherswifts

or

https://www.swift-conservation.org