Bristol Swift Survey 2016 identified many new nest sites which can be seen on the map on Bristol Swift Nest Records page.
Swift numbers in Bristol have been steadily declining over the last 25 years and unless we do something to help them we could lose them forever. One of the main reasons is the loss of suitable nesting sites. The Bristol Swift Survey 2015 identified over 30 swift nest sites and so far the survey in 2016 has found 20 more.
The principal aim for the Bristol Swift Survey in 2016 was to ask local residents to try to identify as many swift nest sites as possible in Bristol, so we can take measures to protect them in the future. If you know of any swift nest sites in Bristol please complete the survey below.
If you have swifts flying up close to buildings but have not identified the nest site, then we would like to know about low level screaming party numbers. If you see swifts participating in low level screaming parties we would like to know the minimum number and the maximum number of swifts participating during the season. This has two benefits – firstly by watching low level screaming it may reveal where the nest sites are and secondly it is a good indicator of how many nests are likely to be in that colony.
Low level screaming activity is defined as a group of swifts flying at roof level at high speed. So for example, if you normally see 4 swifts in your local screaming party except on one occasion you counted 8, then your season’s minimum will be 4 with the maximum number counted as 8. So in this example it would suggest that there is a colony of between 2-4 pairs nesting in the local area, which is useful information and requires further investigation to help pinpoint nest sites.
As from 2017 please send all Bristol nest site locations and low level screaming activity to RSPB Swift Survey. Also please email us via our Contact page with the exact location of any swift nests in Bristol.