LETTERS, NOTES AND QUERIES

Containing this month: 
Nest boxes for swifts by Judith Wakelam
Bird baths in churchyards by Norma Chapman
Sparrows by Joan Hardingham

Nest boxes for swifts

I read with interest the Snippets section in the spring edition of White Admiral referring to the steep decline in swift numbers over the past few years. I too had noticed the decline and became concerned for the swifts that return each year to my village of Worlington in West Suffolk. Their main destination over many years has been a flint cottage with a pantiled roof, now under threat of demolition.

I have had a great deal of support from the village in my quest to have swift boxes installed behind the louvers in the tower of All Saints Church. Not only has it created a lot of interest, it has I hope, ensured that our Worlington swifts will continue to return to the village in future years once they lose their present nest site. I can only hope that whatever replaces the cottage in the future is developed by a sympathetic builder, who will incorporate swift bricks into the build. There are several ways of doing this with little effort and are aesthetically pleasing. As your Snippets stated, a great many nest sites have been lost due to the renovation and demolition of so many old buildings. Maybe churches could play a part in the solution to the problem!

Dick Newell and Bill Murrells from Swift Conservation installed our boxes in February; they have already had success with boxes installed in Ely and Haddenham churches in Cambridgeshire. I can only hope that our Worlington swifts will take advantage of the new safe nest site the boxes offer although it may take time. I am watching the Church tower with great interest. We’ve done our bit now it’s up to the swifts.

For more information and advice go to www.swift-conservation.org.

Judith Wakelam

Bird baths in churchyards

Many Suffolk churchyards are havens for wildlife: anyone who has seen a presentation on this subject by Yvonne and David Leonard will be well aware of this. Why do so few churchyards have a bird bath? What better tangible way to commemorate a loved one, either on a grave or in a suitable spot for anyone whose ashes were interred elsewhere.

Permission is required and someone needs to clean it regularly (e.g. weekly in winter, at least twice as often in summer) and fill the bath. A hand brush, hung in a nearby bush, is ideal for routine cleaning and an occasional thorough scrub is needed. Remember that a concave dish is much easier to clean than one with a vertical edge, and the greater the capacity of the bath the better.

Norma Chapman

Sparrows

Has anyone else lost their house sparrows? I never thought I would be missing them. There used to be dozens cheerfully twittering along the gutter edges and chasing the tits off the bird table and then a few years ago I realised they had gone. Nothing else I can see has changed. They used to nest under the tiles of the old farm buildings and pick up grit and dust bath on the concrete path then suddenly I realised I hadn’t seen them for a while. The annoying thing is I can’t pin-point when that was but it must be 5 years now. I kept thinking they would come back; we are only a few hundred yards from the village which seems to have plenty. I have begun to feel guilty and even rather indignant that we have been rejected in this way and jealous when I sit in other people’s gardens who can still enjoy the idle twittering. Is there any way of encouraging them back? All the projects seem to be about enNovember 19, 2011 9:14width="400" height="171" />

Something I have noticed recently is that the dunnocks which lurk under the hedge near the bird table and sally forth to grab fallen crumbs have started to behave more like sparrows. They are much bolder and have started to feed off the bird table: I half expect them to start tackling the peanut feeder like the house sparrows did. You don’t know what you've got till it’s gone...

Joan Hardingham