Projects
Gwenoliaid Duon Llanidloes Swifts
Anyone who has visited Llanidloes in the summer will be familiar with the joyful sight and sound of swifts swirling and screeching overhead. These extraordinary birds are nature’s aerial acrobats, doing almost everything on the wing – eating, bathing, mating, and even sleeping. Swifts migrate an incredible 3,400 miles twice a year to and from Africa, always returning to the same area to breed.
Sadly, swift numbers have been in steep decline. Between 1995 and 2022, populations dropped by 66% in the UK and an alarming 76% in Wales. This decline is partly due to a reduction in flying insects – an adult swift consumes around 100,000 insects a day – making conservation initiatives like our Growing Green project critical. However, the primary cause of their decline is the loss of nesting sites. Modern buildings are often constructed without the gaps under eaves that swifts rely on, and these gaps are frequently sealed in older properties.
Gwenoliaid Duon Llanidloes Swifts is working to address this issue by building and installing swift nest boxes and encouraging homeowners in Llanidloes and nearby villages to do the same. Hosted by Zero Carbon Llanidloes Di-Garbon and powered by passionate local volunteers, the project has already made great strides. This year, nearly 70 new nest boxes were installed on homes, businesses, and even inside the bell tower of St Idloes Church.
The project also engaged the community through a children’s art competition, which received exceptional entries celebrating these remarkable birds.
Thanks to funding from the Co-op, Action for Swifts, Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, Powys Biodiversity Partnership, Great Oak Bookshop, and generous individual donors, Llanidloes Swifts continues to make a difference. Together, we’re helping to secure a brighter future for these incredible birds.
For further info, or if you would like to be involved in the project, please email
llanidloesswifts@gmail.com or join our Facebook Group
