Tormentil
Tormentil can be found growing on acid grassland, heathland and moorland, but even pops up alongside roads. It bears yellow, buttercup-like flowers, but with only four petals (buttercups have five…
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Chwilio
House martin
As its name suggests, the house martin can be spotted nesting in the eaves of houses in our towns and villages. Its intricate mud nests take days to build and are often returned to and used in…
Orchard
A visit to a traditional orchard reveals gnarled old trunks of fruit and nut trees bursting with blossoms and young leaves in springtime, with wildflowers and insects populating summer’s long…
Upland mixed ash wood
Beautiful displays of flowers spread under the gentle shade of unfurling ash leaves in spring, while in winter the abundant ferns and mosses mean these small, rocky woods retain a watery greenness…
How to build a swift box
Swifts like to leave their nests by dropping into the air from the entrance. This is why they often choose to set up camp in the eaves of buildings. If you have a wall that's at least five…
Northern hay meadow
These beautiful, herb-rich meadows are at their best between late-May and mid-July (after which they are cut for hay, weather permitting). Later, after the haycut, pale fields with geometric…
Beech and yew wood
Soaring beech trunks and a feeling of spaciousness mean that these woods have often been likened to cathedrals. Dense shade means that little grows on the thick layer of fallen leaves underfoot,…
Defend Nature
Over recent days, the UK Government has launched an attack on nature, weakening the laws that protect our wildlife and making a U-turn on manifesto promises to be the greenest Government ever: reversing reforms to farming and making energy decisions that will worsen climate change.
Defend Nature
Over recent days, the UK Government has launched an attack on nature, weakening the laws that protect our wildlife and making a U-turn on manifesto promises to be the greenest Government ever: reversing reforms to farming and making energy decisions that will worsen climate change.
Developing SWIFTly
Swifts are a medium-sized aerial bird, which is a superb flier. They are birds of crags and holes and will often use buildings in the UK in which to nest.
Swifts are plain and sooty brown in colour, but in flight against the sky appear black and are superb aerial flyers. They have scythe-like wings and can often be heard ‘screaming’ around towns and cities, flying high up before darting into the eaves of a building, in which they will nest.
As a summer visitor, breeding across the UK, the Swift is most numerously recorded in the south and east, as well as Wales. Swifts will over-winter in Africa and visit the UK and Europe to breed, usually arriving in late May. Once the breeding season is over, they are often heading back to Africa by late August.
Sadly these birds have declined by 50% in 25 years globally (Swift Conservation, 2021) and their UK Conservation Status is currently Amber, RSPB 2021.
Our aim is to support you in learning how to identify, survey and build nest boxes for these beautiful birds.
Swifts are plain and sooty brown in colour, but in flight against the sky appear black and are superb aerial flyers. They have scythe-like wings and can often be heard ‘screaming’ around towns and cities, flying high up before darting into the eaves of a building, in which they will nest.
As a summer visitor, breeding across the UK, the Swift is most numerously recorded in the south and east, as well as Wales. Swifts will over-winter in Africa and visit the UK and Europe to breed, usually arriving in late May. Once the breeding season is over, they are often heading back to Africa by late August.
Sadly these birds have declined by 50% in 25 years globally (Swift Conservation, 2021) and their UK Conservation Status is currently Amber, RSPB 2021.
Our aim is to support you in learning how to identify, survey and build nest boxes for these beautiful birds.