Swift Progress at Worlington Judith Wakelam Worlington is a small village in West Suffolk South West of Mildenhall. It has a population of approximately 550, no shop and no school, but it does have something that is fast becoming the envy of other villages. A thriving population of swifts, a sight that is becoming all too rare in our towns and villages and it’s all thanks to a dedicated group of swift enthusiasts. I have lived in the village since the 1980s and every year in late April a flint and pantiled cottage in Church Lane, close to my home, had attracted my attention as I awaited the arrival of the first swift to return from Africa to breed under its roof. This event for me has always Swifts around All Saints Church, Worlington represented the first day of my summer even though it is technically spring. I have a particular interest in the species as I have been rehabilitating young and injured swifts since 2002 and I confess to being totally besotted with them. In 2008 I was shocked to see a demolition application appear on the cottage and immediately began a search for help and advice in order to prevent Church Lane from losing these precious birds. After much searching I came across a small group of people who at that time went under the guise of “Concern for Swifts”. I am now very pleased to be a part of the group, now called “Action for Swifts” (AfS). I learnt that they had installed swift nest-boxes in St Mary’s Church in Ely, resulting in a very successful breeding colony, so I contacted them to see if it would be possible to do the same in Worlington’s All Saints Church. After inspecting the tower with its louvred windows, they thought it could possibly work. Permission was granted and in February 2009 ten boxes were installed in the tower behind the louvres. A CD of swift calls was played at intervals from a small pair of speakers from 06.00 to 21.00, to attract the birds. This is just loud enough for the swifts to hear, but not loud enough to annoy any neighbours. (The sound system has since been upgraded).
A swift entering one of the boxes behind a church louvre
When AfS inspected the boxes in September 2010 for any signs of interest we were amazed to find an adult swift with two well grown chicks in one of the boxes. I don’t think we could have been more elated had we had a large lottery win. Since then the number of breeding pairs has increased year on year and more boxes have been added. The latest box check in 2014 revealed an almost 100% increase on the previous year with the total number of breeding pairs having risen to twenty. 10
