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Prisoners' bird boxes aim to aid struggling swifts

Lori Carnochan
BBC Scotland News
BBC A man with grey hair and a beard in a cap and black T-shirt holds up a white bird boxBBC
Antoine Lemaire said the call of the common swift was the "sound of the summer"

Inmates at Dumfries prison have been building bird nesting boxes to help bolster the population of common swifts in the region.

It is part of the Save our Swifts campaign which is being launched by the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere (GSAB).

The hope is that it can reverse the dramatic decline in the number of active colonies in Dumfries and Galloway.

Over the last 25 years, the population of common swifts across the region has declined by 60% - with a loss of habitat a major contributing factor.

Getty Images A common swift flying from left to right across a blue skyGetty Images
Common swift numbers have decreased by 60% in the region

The design of modern buildings, which are often airtight, restricts the opportunity for birds to nest in eaves and crevices.

A total of 28 bird nesting boxes have been built by prisoners at HMP Dumfries and will be distributed to 14 local communities.

Senga Greenwood, senior climate officer with D&G Climate Hub, said the project had started after talks with the head of prisoner outcomes, Stuart Pomfret.

It emerged as a way prisoners could "contribute to the outside world and society" by helping nature.

A smiling woman with short blonde wavy hair in a black button-necked T-shirt with a green T-shirt underneath
Senga Greenwood said there was a long-term commitment to the project

"I think as a partnership between the prison, the biosphere, the climate hub and the Swifts Local Network, there's a commitment to keep this ongoing - it's not just this season," she said.

"Anyone who wants to get involved or who has observed swifts in their community or in their own house is encouraged to get in touch."

The biosphere is working with a number of groups to encourage locals to help identify where swifts are active, so that the nesting boxes can be installed near established colonies.

They will be placed alongside specialist swift calling devices, which mimic the bird's song and attract them to gather.

A white hotel building with black surrounds to the windows under a whispy-clouded sky
The Craigdarroch Arms Hotel in Moniaive is one site where a bird box is being put in place

"We need to know where the swifts are nesting, and one way people can help is by surveying or keeping an eye out for nesting swifts and they can log their observations on an app called Swift Mapper," explained Antoine Lemaire, GSAB's nature recovery officer.

"I'm hoping that when we put the boxes out, alongside the callers, the swifts will be there very quickly.

"The more we do that, the more people will see them and it's for future generations too - to be able to experience the sound of summer, which for me it really is."

It is not their only initiative aimed boosting the bird numbers in the region.

GSAB is also hosting a nest box making workshop, with details available on its social media pages.