Swift boxes installed at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital

9 May 2017

Three swift boxes have been installed at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) to provide a nesting site for the birds.

Local firm Sudlows helped The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) to install the swift boxes at RSH in April 2017.

The boxes, which have been installed on the RSH site but away from clinical areas, were kindly donated by another local company – wildlife garden specialist CJ Wildlife.

Julia Clarke, Director of Corporate Governance at SaTH, said: “Swifts are migrants to the UK. They usually arrive in May and stay for just three months each summer.

“Swift numbers are declining severely, in part because of the loss of nest sites. I’m delighted we’re providing three swift boxes as part of our commitment to the local environment through our sustainability programme and would like to thank Sudlows and CJ Wildlife for their support.

“A survey by the Shropshire Swift Group last summer showed that

there were swifts in the local area, so by putting up nest boxes we are hoping to provide a nesting site for returning first time breeders and therefore make a long-term contribution to the species’ conservation. Once established they are very site faithful and will return each year.”

Swifts use the eaves and roofs of our homes as a replacement for the rock faces in which they would naturally nest. However, many modern and renovated buildings exclude them.

The swift is a medium-sized aerial bird, which is a superb flier. A swift does not land or perch apart from when they are nesting. It evens sleeps on the wing! Swifts feed on small airborne insects and eat many thousands of insects. When they are nesting they bring back around 500 insects each time they return to the nest to feed their young.