"In 960, when Benedictine monks founded Westminster Abbey, they would have clearly heard the scream of swifts each summer. These unique birds, which live mostly in eternal flight - eating, preening and sleeping on the wing - nested in old buildings. But today their population is in steep decline, down 60% since the mid-90s, partly due to modern buildings. Having made the perilous 7,000-mile (11,265km) journey from Africa to breed in the UK, they find themselves homeless."
"It is in this peaceful green space, framed by the Gothic towers of the Abbey and Houses of Parliament, that work has begun. Swift boxes have been installed on one of the administrative buildings. "This is a Unesco World Heritage Site, most buildings have Grade I or Grade II designations," says Anna Wyse, the environmental and sustainability manager at Westminster Abbey. "We've sprayed them red to blend them a bit more with the building because of the historic environment.""
Anglo-Saxon London, or Lundenwic, had around 5-10,000 people, and swifts nested in old buildings during summer. Swifts live mostly in flight—eating, preening and sleeping on the wing—and migrate roughly 7,000 miles (11,265 km) from Africa to breed in the UK. Swift populations have declined about 60% since the mid-1990s, partly because modern buildings lack nesting sites. Westminster Abbey's College Garden, cultivated for almost 900 years, now hosts a conservation effort. Swift boxes were installed on an administrative building and painted red to blend with the historic fabric. A device plays swift calls at dusk and dawn to attract juveniles.
Read at www.bbc.com
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