Today we welcome a guest blog by Terence Cassidy of the BirdWatch Ireland Meath Branch and he describes a recent branch event through the town looking for Swifts. Over to Terence....
We start
our walk on the banks of the Boyne, where Councillor Noel French starts us off,
more than fifty of us including many school children. The birds feeding on the
wing over the Boyne include Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins, birds
often confused with the Swift. Swifts fly high as we head into the town.
Our first
stop Castle Street is a row of terraced houses built after the Boer war. Most
of these houses retain features which allow swifts to safely nest and have
helped to maintain this special bird in Trim. Screaming Swifts whizz
past, and we manage to catch sight of them as they dart under the roofs. Swifts
need space between the roof and the wall to enter where they nest on the top of
the wall. In Castle Street they have the additional protection of a very ornate
fascia board.
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| A Swift dives for the eaves of this house along Trims Castle Street Photo Franck Ar Moenner |
Next stop Loman Street doesn’t disappoint either and we are treated to a spectacle of returning nesting Swifts. The roof of these houses has a large overhang giving protection to birds nesting on the top of the wall and unlike many other houses in Trim swifts have not been shut out of their nest sites by plastic fascia and soffits which are standard in modern building. The residents too are part of the success of this colony of Swift, many having grown up with the sight and sound of Swifts as a harbinger of summer. Their love for the bird will ensure that at least in these houses a space will always be left for returning Swift, which they say return like clockwork on the 4th of May every year. They tell stories of finding accidentally grounded Swifts and, aware that the birds never land on the ground, they rescued them by simply throwing them back up in the air.
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| Brian Caffrey of BirdWatch Ireland chats to the assambled crowd on Loman Street Photo Franck Ar Moenner |
Finally we
stop for a welcome cup of tea from Maureen in Brogan's Hotel. Brian from our
tidy towns committee and Gerry representing the Men's Shed eagerly take in the
technical specifications provided by Brian Caffrey who demonstrates the
different types of swift nest boxes. Lars, from outside Trim, explains how he
built nest boxes and equipped them with speakers and now has several nesting
pairs of young swifts. These are probably young birds from the main colonies in
Trim, which were attracted on their return from over wintering in Africa by a
suitable nest site and the sound of swifts not far from where they were raised.
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| Another stop to view the Swifts along Loman Street Photo Franck Ar Moenner |
A love of
swifts is not confined to birdwatchers in Trim as not only the Meath Branch of
Birdwatch Ireland, but also the Tidy Towns committee, those working on heritage
and environmental issues and residents appreciate the special place this bird
has in the life of the town. After this experience I feel more confident that
the Swift will not disappear from Trim, as has sadly been the case in many
towns in Ireland, and look forward to reporting on the combined work we will
now undertake to maintain a healthy population of swifts in Trim.
Really encouraging to see that level of support and participation as well as a solid breeding population to build on (so many towns have lost some/all).
ReplyDeleteTop marks to Trim .....and Terence!
Indeed Mícheál its great! Lots of great stuff going on around the country (including your own efforts)! Some towns totally devoid of Swifts which is terrible but a trend we can hopefully reverse.
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