DLR Provides a New Home for our Swifts in County Hall

DLR are delighted to provide a nesting place for one of our most important but declining birds, the common swift.

Two swift nest colony boxes along with the lure (a speaker that attracts the swifts by sending out their own call) have been placed in appropriate locations on our County Hall building.

DLR have also provided swift colony boxes to our staff for other locations around the county.

Swifts' numbers are declining rapidly. Reasons for the scale of the declines are not fully clear, but we think that loss of nest sites due to building renovations and construction of modern buildings without suitable cavities is a large part of the problem. The impacts of climate change and falling numbers of invertebrate food are also important. 

Did you know?

• The common swift is a small migratory bird (larger than a swallow, smaller than a starling) which arrives in Ireland to breed from southern Africa in May and will depart by late August.
• Swifts spend most of their lives in flight, drinking, feeding, mating and even sleeping in the air. Non-breeding Swifts can spend up to a year or more in continuous flight.
• They are among the fastest of birds, with our common swift able to reach speeds of over 110km per hour.

Click here to visit the Birdwatch Ireland website for more information on swifts