Swift success for St Etchen’s

(Above) Nest box project volunteers Shane, Ruby and Gabrielle Kelly present a new swift nest box to St Etchen’s school principal Matt Melvin, on behalf of the Heritage Office of Westmeath County Council. Photo – Richella Duggan.

As students and teachers of St Etchen’s National School in Kinnegad were preparing to depart for their summer break at the end of June – they were thrilled to discover that some new occupants were arriving at the school.

Two pairs of Swifts have nested for the first time in specially designed nest boxes, which were erected on the main school building in 2019 – as part of a project supported by the Westmeath Branch of Birdwatch Ireland and the Heritage office of Westmeath County Council.

Swifts are migrant birds, arriving in Ireland from Southern Africa around the start of May in order to breed. According to project volunteer Richella Duggan - populations of Swifts are in decline across Europe.

“The reasons for the decline are not fully understood, but it is thought the loss of available nest sites due to renovations of old buildings could be partly to blame.

“Swifts are fascinating birds. They spend most of their lives in the air. They eat, drink, sleep and even mate while flying – completing a round trip of approximately 14,000 miles every summer. For many people, the sights and sounds of groups of swifts returning to our towns and villages every May is one of the first welcome signs of summer,” she said.

A county-wide Swift survey carried out during the summer of 2018 by Birdwatch Ireland revealed that Kinnegad was home to a small colony of nine swift nests in the former National School on Main Street, which is soon to be redeveloped into a new library. Richella described how survey volunteers were concerned for the future of swifts in Kinnegad. “We were worried that all of the nests were located in one old building. Swifts are incredibly faithful when it comes to nest sites. Once they’ve used a nesting place – they return to that exact location year after year. If they arrive back and it’s gone – they will keep trying to access the nest. They may eventually give up and try to find an alternative – but the fact that all nests were in only one building in Kinnegad – suggests that there are few alternative sites available”.

Kinnegad residents Gabrielle and Ruby Kelly, who volunteered on the survey, suggested St Etchen’s school as a potential location for a nest box and the idea was supported by Principal Matt Melvin and chairperson of the board of management Fr Tom Gilroy.

According to Richella – swifts are ideal birds for a school’s nest-box project.

“The children love hearing about the life cycle and behaviour of the birds. The students can all recognise swifts now by sight and sound. The birds are very clean - they don’t create any mess in or around the nest, and they don’t cause any disturbance. We are really delighted at how quickly the birds have taken to the nest boxes. It can sometimes take three or four years for swifts to occupy a new nest box – so for two pairs to move in after just two summers is very exciting – and suggests that swifts could be experiencing a housing shortage crisis too!”

The Heritage Office of Westmeath County Council have provided the school with another triple nest box– and Richella is hoping to find other suitable locations around Kinnegad to ensure that the population is secured.

“We’d like to thank Westmeath County Council and the staff, board of management and students of St Etchen’s for sharing their lovely school with these special birds and for helping to ensure that Kinnegad swifts have somewhere safe to breed for many years to come”. For further information on swifts and how to help them – please email richella.duggan@gmail.com.