We want to know what species are present in our parish and where they are. To find out, we will be doing some organised surveys, but also we want to encourage everyone to record what they see.
We have chosen 20 species that we are especially interested in knowing more about and we are making the reporting of these as easy as possible.
We are offering two methods for reporting sightings. The easiest, which can be used for our ’20 Selected Species’ is via our website form below
The other method is via iRecord which requires more detail but goes directly to a national biological recording system that we can retrieve data from - but you’ll need to add our activity code when you fill in the form.
South Stoke Swifts
Image courtesy of Simon Booker
Have you seen swifts in South Stoke?
Swifts are African birds who visit us from May to August. They come here to breed. They have characteristic bow-shaped wings, appear to be all-black, and live in the air, feeding, sleeping and mating on the wing.
They swoop and sometimes screech around the roofs and trees in joyous “screaming parties,” performing aerobatics at high speed from dawn to dusk, and at the end of the day, they spiral up into the sky to sleep.
Because Swifts live in the air, they don’t need to walk or perch, and their feet are tiny and their legs are very short.
Swifts pair for life and return to the same nesting site, year after year.
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Image courtesy of Simon Booker
Like so many of our birds, the numbers of Swifts are in a steep decline, driven by the dramatic reduction in insect numbers (caused by pesticide use and climate change) and the loss of suitable nesting sites.
Swifts nest in buildings, usually high up in the eaves, with a clear flight path in and a shallow lip so that they can get in and out with their little legs. They form colonies in suitable places. Old buildings often had suitable gaps and places for Swifts to nest, but modern buildings don’t, and when new roofs and loft conversions are added in older buildings, nesting sites are often lost.
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Young Swifts exercise inside the nest to develop their flight muscles, and when they are ready to leave, they dive out of the nest and can fly! Young Swifts don’t hang around. They take a look to see where they are, and then they fly south, bound for Africa, 6,000 miles away.
They come back the next summer and the following year, and they start to look for nesting sites. They don’t try to make a nest until the second or third year, but each summer they return and do some house hunting. And this is our opportunity to help them find somewhere!
South Stoke has a population of these amazing birds, and SSWCG wants to find out more about them and help them thrive. We think there are at least two colonies here. One around the Old Vicarage, and the other at the west end of South Bank. Swifts also used to be seen around Cross Keys Road, but alas, not last year.
In May 2024 South Stoke Wildlife & Conservation Group installed 12 new Swift nesting boxes around the village. The nest boxes were made by John Stimpson, who is knocking out hundreds of them! (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOW2fhjXIw8).
Jerry and Susan Pride of Harwell Swifts have been generous with time, materials and expertise (Check out the inspirational work they’ve been doing at Harwell!: https://www.facebook.com/groups/harwellswifts).
We will be monitoring our Swift population to see what happens!
Thanks to everyone involved in raising funds and making this happen.
If you know where a Swift nest is please get in touch: sswildlifeconservationgroup@gmail.com