Summer has truly dawned when our swifts arrive and, on June 7, these avian Spitfires will be celebrated in World Swift Day, with nest-site walks from Kazakhstan to Spain. From June 28 – July 6, Swift Awareness Week UK will see events highlighting the extraordinary life cycle of these birds, which spend the vast majority of their time in the air. Nest-box footage shows young swifts doing press-ups: once fledged, they will not alight again for three years.
Yet the species is in dire straits. Swifts are dependent on crevices in buildings, now too often filled in, for their nests. A simple solution is a swift brick — widely adopted in Gibraltar with uplifting results — yet the efforts of campaigners to mandate swift bricks in new homes here were recently frustrated again with the rejection of an amendment to the planning bill.
‘It is gut-wrenching,’ says Hannah Bourne-Taylor, author of Nature Needs You. ‘Without swift bricks, birds reliant on our buildings to breed can’t stabilise their populations. We must lobby our MPs: the more people join the fight, the better chance our swifts have.’
Labour MP Barry Gardiner is urging his party to rethink: ‘Who has not marvelled at the liquidity of swifts on a summer evening? How doltish, how insensible to beauty and life must our ministers be, to block the simplest of legislative amendments that would provide the basic habitat to stop these incomparable creatures facing oblivion. When even the Home Builders Federation declares that swift bricks, which provide a home for eight species of cavity-nesting birds, pose no block to the Government’s targets, it is clear that the biggest cavities are in the hearts and skulls of politicians.’
‘Labour backed my amendment in opposition and it makes no sense at all for them to now whip against it,’ adds Zac Goldsmith. ‘If Labour rejects even this simple and painless measure, what hope is there for the rest of our rapidly declining Nature?’
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David Beckham and Tom Parker Bowles whip up one of the guest editor's favourite childhood mealsFrom Sunday roasts to Spanish delicacies, good food is one of the pillars of Sir David Beckham’s life, as Tom Parker Bowles discovers when the pair cook up a comfort-food storm at Claridge’s.
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'One of the truly great gardens of the world' is at risk of having its vistas and tranquility blighted foreverThe views from Rousham, the birthplace of the English landscape-garden movement are at risk of development plans for the nearby former RAF Upper Heyford Air Force base get the go-ahead.
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'It makes me feel as if I’ve done a good job as a father and that I did the right thing in wanting us to have a house here': David Beckham on why the countryside matters so much to him and his familySir David Beckham talks to Paula Minchin about discovering the joys of beekeeping and gardening.
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‘The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second best time is now'Now is the time to firstly, hug a tree, and secondly, plant some more — in increasingly imaginative ways.
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The secret life of seeds: The little wonders that sustain all life on EarthThey might not be especially striking to look at — if you can see them at all — but seeds are among the natural world’s most awe-inspiring marvels.
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Do not be afraid of this bodysnatching fungi that lives on a lawn in ScotlandThe lawns at Haddo House in Aberdeenshire are luscious and friendly, unless you are the prey of the vile 'Strathy Strangler'.
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Temperate rainforests are being planted all over Britain — what are they and why do we need them?Glen Auldyn on the Isle of Man is part of a £38 million restoration scheme to re-establish rainforests all over the world. Lotte Brundle went to see what's going on.
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Claws for thought: The world leading crustacean conservation charity that is saving our lobstersThe National Lobster Hatchery in Cornwall is fighting for the species' survival. But it could do with some help.
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The Essex entrepreneur with big plans to eradicate microplastics from our oceans — and he's got the royal seal of approvalAdam Root plans to eradicate microplastics from our ocean for good.
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Amanda Owen: The Yorkshire Shepherdess on farming, life, and having tea with her sheepLife can be beautiful for farmers, and often is — but it can also be hard and bleak. James Robinson joined the Country Life Podcast to talk about the extraordinary ups and downs of the job he loves, and how Nature helps out when things get tough.
