Swift and bat boxes installed at Chester Northgate

Twenty swift ‘hotels’ are being installed in the new Northgate car park brickwork, they will help reverse the decline of swifts in Chester, along with 2 bat boxes also. Cllr. Samantha Dixon, Chair of the Northgate Joint Member Working Group with John Dearnley and Roger Nutter, from Chester RSPB, came to meet the Vinci site team installing the boxes.

Swifts are amazing! Did you know swifts can fly up to 800km (500 miles) a day on migration. Swifts spend their life almost entirely on the wing and even feed, sleep and mate in flight? They feed exclusively on insects and only come to land when nesting. After leaving the nest where they hatched, they'll keep flying non-stop for three years! They even eat, mate and sleep in the air - they can 'snooze' with one side of their brain at once, and then switch to the other side.

More swift facts:
About the Swift Bird Conservation Project | Help Us Help Swifts - RSPB

You can play your part by making your own swift box, follow the instructions:
Make a home for swifts (rspb.org.uk)

Join the Chester RSPB Group:
Home - Chester Local Group (rspb.org.uk)