9 MAY
2019 • 6:00AM
The RSPB
has urged the government to ensure developers build bird boxes into new homes
amid fears swift numbers are plummeting.
The small
bird, whose distinctive wings make it look almost like an arrow in flight,
nests in nooks and crannies in buildings after flying over 6,000 miles from
Africa in the spring.
They are
one of the fastest birds in the world, able to reach up to 70mph and often not
touching the ground for up to three years at a time.
Numbers
of the animal have dwindled to fewer than 90,000 pairs, down from 150,000
pairs two decades ago.
Swifts
are an urban species of bird which use spaces in rooftops or in old buildings
to make their nests. The species has seen this serious decline in numbers
partly because modern building methods can eliminate the swifts’ access to rooftops
and as old buildings are demolished so reducing available nesting sites.
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