Birdwatching Jenny boxes clever with her swift idea

THEY have virtually disappeared from Edinburgh's sky, but swifts could soon be flocking back to the Capital if a retired doctor has her way.

Jenny Webb is starting a one-woman campaign by installing special swift boxes on the Georgian tenement in Stockbridge that she lives in.

She has purchased six of the concrete boxes which will be placed on the exterior of the block on North West Circus Place this week in a bid to encourage the tiny birds back to the area.

The 70-year-old is concerned that swifts have all but disappeared and is encouraging neighbours to get involved.

Ms Webb said: "Many years ago the New Town had lots of swifts, but they disappeared when everybody got their houses restored.

"They used to nest in the holes in our buildings, but we have destroyed their homes.

"We had our building repaired and the holes filled in about 20 years ago, not realising we were shutting out the swifts."

The boxes will be placed under the eaves on the rear of the building, and it is hoped that they will provide a home for swifts for decades to come.

As major reconstruction work on the block of flats is currently ongoing, Ms Webb thought it was the perfect time to install the boxes because the scaffolding could be used to reach the desired locations for the boxes.

Ms Webb said Corstorphine Roofing, which is currently carrying out the repair work on the building, will install the boxes in three sets of pairs.

Ms Webb, who is originally from Sydney, Australia, and has lived in her Stockbridge flat for 28 years, will also place a time capsule filled with photographs and a copy of the Edinburgh Evening News next to the swift boxes.

She added: "They are the most beautiful birds to watch, they are very fast. They are like kamikaze pilots.

"Swifts have been part of life here in Edinburgh for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and we have stopped that."

Ms Webb's friends have given her some money to help pay for the boxes, which cost 60 each. The holes leading into them are too small for other birds to squeeze through, meaning only swifts can set up home inside.

The RSPB has reported that swift numbers had declined by 47 per cent in the last 10 years, mainly due to loss of nest sites through building improvement or demolition.

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