In 1996, I with others started a campaign to save Swift colonies in the United Kingdom. At the time it was not on the lists of birds of conservation concern, even though colonies were disappearing alarmingly as buildings were renovated. We canvassed the premier British birding organisation, the RSPB, using the argument that it was better to solve a problem rather than wait until it became a crisis. Today, some 13 years later, when the decline has reached crisis proportions. we (representatives of four amateur Swift organisations) had a meeting at the RSPB, where it was announced that Swift is now on the "amber" list of birds of conservation concern.It's not only the mills of God that grind exceeding slow, but it looks like we've got good corn at last.
1 comment:
Please forgive me if I have missed the point, not read your item properly or researched it properly, but here in Malaysia they are actively assisting in the breeding of what they call 'swiftlets' (is there a difference?), renting and buying buildings and building massive concrete structures to encourage the birds to settle there. The motivation is commercial - the swiftlets nests are are used for birds nest soup and it must be a lucrative business considering the massive structures that are being built. There is a major downside and a cause of friction for many citizens though, because to attract the swiftlets they play recordings, often in residential areas (at high volume) of what seems to me to be birds in distress. Cheers
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