Photo © Oriana Ferrandino
Don't do this!
Swifts nested in this roof in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, for 400 years, but no longer now it has been
retiled and the tile ends blocked with cement. Using cement like this, as well as (often illegally) destroying
Swift colonies, may also impede
natural ventilation and promote damp and rot problems. |
The
builders of the Mediterranean
lands have used Roman tiles for over 2000 years. Easy
to make and fit, they keep the house cool and dry, and look superb.
Fitted in the original way they make great homes for
Swifts, but a disaster is unfolding as builders now block
off the tiles with cement, stopping the Swifts access.
It's unnecessary, unsightly, and may cause ventilation
and damp problems. It is also illegal if Swifts
are nesting in the roof. Make sure your builder leaves the tile ends unblocked
so the Swifts can get in to nest.
You
will be well rewarded!
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On
the left is a very interesting roof that we were shown
in Grottammare, in the Marche, Italy.
It
has two sets of apertures, for Swifts and for Kestrels
or Jackdaws, all attractive, entertaining and charismatic
birds.
The
Swift holes, which are used every summer, are set in
the upper right roof edge, just below the roof balcony
fencing. The Kestrel or Jackdaw nests are accessible
through the hooded tiles on the lower roof to the left.
Adaptations
like this are easy and cheap to make when building,
renovating or re-roofing. We can supply further information
and guidance, and in many cases we can identify local help and advice
for you too. Please ask us! For contacts - see below!
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Photo © Mauro Ferri
The first Swift Tower of the Third Millennium! Italy still has many old Swift Towers, but new
ones like this are rare.
These structures were originally built to encourage Swifts to
breed so their young could be taken and used as food,
in much the same way as dovecotes were once used.
These
days they are managed to maintain and enhance the populations
of Swifts in Italy.
This one, based on an ancient local structure, was built in 2005 in Cavriago, Reggio Emilia, for
the owner, Signor Predieri.
The Swift nest holes in the frieze below the cornice were designed by Mauro Ferri. |
Photo © Oriana Ferrandino
Swifts flying round an old tower in Ascoli Piceno, Italy.
They breed in spaces between the bricks, where cement has fallen
out giving access to holes just large enough for them
to nest in. When re-pointing take care not to block
up Swift nests. A check with a boroscope will show whether
there are nests inside, and you can then leave sufficient
space for the Swifts to enter.
Click
here to see Ascoli's Swifts on video!
The visible
holes in the brickwork, "bocche
pontaie", are there to ease scaffold erection. They are
often used by feral pigeons as nest sites, and so may be obstructed or filled
in during renovation. But
they can be converted for Swifts
to breed in by fitting the Swift Wedge Bricks
shown below!
Photo © Mauro Ferri
Above: Left - the Wedge
Brick; Right - the Wedge Brick in use. This Swift Wedge
Brick was designed in 2003 by A Imperiale and M Ferri
to exclude feral pigeons from the old scaffold holes in the Torre dei Modenesi
in Nonantola, Modena, Italy (pictured below), while
providing access for Swifts, bats and small insectivorous
passerines.
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Need more
advice and help?
Israel - contact Amnonn Hahn
Italy -
contact Mauro Ferri
Catalunya -
contact Enric Fuste
Portugal - The Andorin Website
Spain
(Valencia) -
contact Jorge Sanz
Spain (Extremadura) -
contact Jesus Solana
Spain (Andalucia) -
contact Elena Moreno Portillo
Spain (Majorca) - contact Conservació Falzies Palma
Spain (Majorca) - contact Sarah Barnard
France (Touraine) - contact Swifts in France
France (Toulon area) - contact Katherine Dubourg
Turkey - contact Levent Turan
For more information - contact
Swift Conservation
Next - Helping
Swifts in Europe
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Photo © Mauro Ferri
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