The UK breeding population of Common Swifts (Apus apus) is in big trouble (down by 42% in the South West and more in some areas) and if action is not taken soon it is likely to reach an unrecoverable level. The most obvious reason for the decline is human interference in the Swifts' traditional nesting habitat, ie. in our homes and other buildings. Modern building techniques and materials, like plastic soffits and facias, have drastically reduced the number of holes in man-made structures that Swifts need. Simply put, they are running out of places in the UK where they can rear their young.Pressure needs to be applied to the local authorities, in all areas where Swift colonies are established, to ensure adequate year round protection of their nesting places is afforded by their planning processes. Dorset is one such area.A monumental and costly effort would be required to identify these locations by traditional survey methods, so a different approach is being tried. Most will be familiar with the low level, high speed "screaming party" displays with which Swifts announce the presence of a breeding colony. These displays are usually around the centre of their chosen breeding territory. This behaviour is so distinctive and impressive that it should be possible to use peoples' memories of such displays as anecdotal evidence on which to build what is believed to be the first national database of swift colonies in the UK.I have created a Google Group to enable people to send in details of past and future sightings. The URL is http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/uk-swifts. The site, which is very new and still evolving, also has information about Swifts, links to other Swift sites, and a discussion board. This is an ambitious project and as I am just an enthusiast doing this in my free time, I would welcome any suggestions of how the site, or the project itself, might be improved. Please have at look, using the web address above, and join in.Efforts are in hand to contact Bird Clubs in order to request that they pass details of the site and its aims to their members, and inviting them to contribute. Alternative ways to publicise the site will be used to spread the word as widely as possible. All data entered will be collated and periodically posted to the site in spreadsheet format to which anybody will have free access.

Knowledge of where Swifts are breeding will enable targeting of the local authorities involved. As far as Dorset is concerned, negotiations have begun with a view to including protection for Swift nesting places within the framework of the Biodiversity Planning for the County. This initiative will be more likely to succeed with the co-operation of DBC members, so I urge you , please, to join the uk-swift project; follow the simple instructions of how to share where you have seen Swift "screaming parties", and help make a difference. By helping to preserve Swifts nesting places we will also be helping House Sparrows and Starlings.

Geoff Beale
geoff.beale@bigfoot.com
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/uk-swifts

Balearic Shearwaters

The Balearic Shearwater is the rarest bird in the world to visit Britain regularly. Balearic Shearwater breeds in the Balearic Islands, where it has suffered a well-documented population crash mainly as a consequence of predation by Black Rats and domestic cats. After breeding, a large proportion of the population disperses westwards out of the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic. There, the birds have traditionally gathered to moult in late summer in northern and central parts of the Bay of Biscay, where they feed close inshore on pilchards and anchovies. In the last decade or so it seems that this moulting population has shifted northwards, with larger numbers being recorded in the western English Channel. This change is thought to relate to increased surface sea temperatures, which in turn are likely to be a consequence of global warming. Sightings of the species are therefore increasing in Britain at a time when its breeding population is declining. Balearic Shearwater is much more of an inshore feeder than many of its relatives and we are lucky in Dorset that Portland Bill is one of the prime sites in the UK for the species. Seawatching in suitable conditions from Portland Bill between July and October will normally result in sightings. The recent Lyme Bay Pelagic trip (see article elsewhere in the Newsletter) resulted in very close views of the species.The SeaWatch SW Project (http://www.seawatch-sw.org) is an initiative designed to collect important information about some of the UK's most threatened marine animals including the Balearic Shearwater. The project is entirely volunteer-based, and is being supported by a number of major conservation and scientific organisations, including the National Oceanography Centre at Southampton, the RSPB and the Marine Conservation Society. Observers have been stationed at Gwennap Head, Cornwall from mid-July to mid-October. One of the main aims of SeaWatch SW is to provide a central point for Balearic Shearwater recording in UK waters.The SeaWatch SW Project project is therefore urging anyone who sees a Balearic Shearwater in the UK in 2007 to contact them with details of the sighting, or submit the record to the Birdguides website (www.birdguides.com). Alternatively, you can submit your records in the normal way for the Dorset Bird Report, and we will pass them onto the SeaWatch SW Project.

Very many thanks to those observers who took the time to take part in the trial for next year's Song Thrush survey, to be undertaken in conjunction with the Dorset Wildlife Trust. We're currently looking at the lessons learnt and will report in the next Newsletter. We will also be planning ways of bringing the survey to the attention of a wide audience, and hopefully involving large numbers of the public in the survey.

Fieldwork for the Atlas starts on 1st November. Two types of records are requested - Roving Records aim to capture all kinds of distribution records, from species lists for grid squares to one-off records of hard to find species, and anything in between. Timed Tetrad Visits (TTVs) are principally concerned with discovering the broad patterns of relative abundance. A TTV involves walking around a tetrad, birdwatching for 1 or 2 hours and recording everything you see and hear.

For full details of how to get involved, see the website (http://www.bto.org/birdatlas/index.htm) or contact the BTO Headquarters at the Nunnery Thetford, Norfolk. Dawn Balmer or Simon Gillings will be pleased to help and to answer any queries you may have e-mail the BTO by Clicking Here