Please join Petersfield Climate Action Network for a fascinating FREE talk on swifts during Swift Awareness Week - on Monday 30th June at 7pm. 

Hampshire Swifts was formed in 2016 in response to the ongoing decline of this iconic species. Shockingly, since 1995 swifts have declined by 65% in the UK as a whole and by 75% in the South-East. Loss of nest sites is thought to be the major cause. Decline in insects may also contribute. The charity's objective is to reverse the decline of swifts in Hampshire. They aim to achieve this by conserving existing nest sites, by installing nest boxes on existing and new buildings, and by working with planners, developers and ecologists to try to ensure that all suitable new developments have integral swift bricks.

Catharine Gale, a trustee of the charity, will tell us how to identify swifts and distinguish them from swallows and martins, the incredible life history of this enigmatic species, their migration patterns and their current status. At the end of the talk, you will have an opportunity to ask questions.

As part of this talk, you will also find out about an exciting local Swift Streets project which started in Penns Road and Station Road, in April 2023, with the installation of 21 swift boxes. Since then 120 boxes have been installed in and around Petersfield under this scheme.

Read more about swifts on the Hampshire Swifts website, and listen to a podcast here.

Read more about the Petersfield project here: Swift Streets for Petersfield

Come along to find out more about these incredible birds and explore how you might be able to help the species survive and thrive into the future. Join us at the United Reformed Church from 6.30pm. You can also find us at St Peter's Church on Saturday 28th June from 10am until 1pm, where we will be happy to talk to you about swifts, and swift boxes, and you will be able to view the boxes installed in the church tower.

The talk is completely free but please reserve your place via the link.