HELP PROTECT THE SWIFTS OF PALMA

about-swift

About the Swift

The arrival of the swifts transforms the soundscape of Palma, announcing good weather and the beginning of summer.

This irreplaceable bird needs our help to ensure that we can remain neighbors and friends for many years to come.

Swift Conservation Palma

Who we are

Swift Conservation Palma is a campaign started in March 2021 by a group of active citizens with the support of GOB, SEO Birdlife and the Balearic Natural History Society. Our aim is to preserve the existing swift population of Palma and increase it to preserve urban biodiversity for the future.

What we do

In 2021 Swift Conservation Palma will concentrate on conservation work in the old town of Palma. We will survey our swift populations and nest sites to get an accurate picture allowing us to plan conservation activity in the future.
We will be sharing information with other swift conservation organisations in Spain and elsewhere and adding to our knowledge of the swifts in Mallorca.

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Want to help?

Individuals

Join a talk or walk

We will be offering informal talks and walking tours of the survey area in Sa Gerreria and Calatrava between April and July.

Sign up – send us an email and we’ll send the schedule. Limited places

Found a swift in the street?

Most birds found in this way are young and require specialist care if they have fallen out of their nests. Handle very carefully, put them in an enclosed box lined with a cloth and take them to an official recuperation centre.

Build and install a nestbox

If you have a balcony you could build and install a nest box. See ideas from GOB and others here

Join the SEOBirdlife survey

Download the SEOBirdlife survey app here.

Not just for swifts, but other birds too.

Builders | Contractors | Architects | Property Owners

The remodeling of buildings in the historic centers of towns and cities is one of the main causes of local decline and extinction. Restored and newly constructed buildings do not have cavities that can be used by birds.

But building work can conserve the holes where swifts nest and ensure that no works are carried out during the nesting period. Nest boxes can be installed in buildings to replace destroyed nests and to encourage new pairs to breed. It is vital that municipalities, architects, surveyors, corporate and private owners participate in the preservation of common swift colonies.
If you are planning a building project where swifts are nesting, or have a building that needs reform but might be a swift nest site, email us and we will be happy to help and offer expert advice. If you would like to try and help swifts by installing nest boxes we can help with suitable solutions. There is no charge for this service.
Swift_adult_bird

SEO Birdlife has worked with the Ayuntamiento of Segovia to produce an informative booklet on Urban birds and Building projects. Many of the recommendations are appropriate for Palma.

Swift Conservation Programmes In Europe

Approximately 40% of the world's swift population nests in Europe and the Mediterranean. An apparent decline detected in some countries (EBCC 2000) has produced an increase in conservation work in many countries. See some examples here

Segovia

UK

Belgium

Holland

Bird of the Year 2021

The swift has been voted Bird of the Year for SEO Birdlife in 2021.

Some of the partners who help us make a difference.