There's a picture of a box with a bunch of playing cards on top of it, then a picture of a building that has one. I found it insufficient and thought others might too.
In the US bird populations are down 30% since the 70s (with many species seeing much more significant declines) and you see similar trends in many other countries. You'll probably see a lot more of these sorts of conservation efforts as people start to realize how dire things are ecologically.
I also know the numbers are similarly dire across the animal kingdom. At least birds aren't doing as poorly as amphibians where 40% of species are threatened (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10567568/)
Cool project! My folks get Cliff Swallows nesting under the eaves above their door in central Texas and they make a huge mess. I wish we could encourage them to nest on the side of the house with some bespoke bricks, but they enjoy the doorway.
We had chimney swifts growing up. They were bastards who built nests that would just absolutely clog the chimney. But it was neat to watch them circle and drop into the chimney by the dozens right before dark.
One of my best memories is my grandfather cussing loudly down the chimney in the fall as he cleaned out their nests. It just echoed through the house from the stove.
1. Why focus on Swifts as opposed to any other species in decline? They state that they are "iconic", so maybe that's the answer? Are they more "iconic" than any other specifies in Scotland?
2. Why are these bricks the best solution? Why not take that money that would be spent on bricks and instead preserve land, or just build them dedicated houses elsewhere?
3. Why does this need to be done via government mandate versus voluntarily asking people to build Swift housing in existing buildings or land?
I'm worried that this is a government policy with great intentions that will result in economic costs with unmeasured benefits and bureaucratic bloat. Hopefully I am proven wrong!
The article focuses on swifts because it's about swift bricks, a cheap and practical answer to helping the declining swift population.
But don't worry, there are plenty of other initiatives elsewhere across Scotland and the UK helping other species of birds, seeing as you're clearly interested in this subject.
I live close to the most populous city in Scotland (Glasgow), and even only 6mile (10km) out of the city there is extensive greenery. Rats and mice are very uncommon here. They are rarely seen in the city, and I live close to very large fields and open countryside.
1. These bricks are normally installed close to the roof, under the guttering.
2. If anything, the main rodent of concern would be squirrels...but they will nest in the gutters anyway so having a sealed metal box with a very small opening is likely better anyway.
Rats and mice are ridiculously common in central Glasgow, its plagued the city for years to the point many argue its a public health crisis. While sure the suburbs might be better, I've never once seen someone describe Glasgow and rats being uncommon in the same sentence. I literally can't visit Glasgow without seeing an enormous rat in the street 5 minutes after arriving.
There are loads of nice things I will say about Glasgow - I lived there for decades. Being low on the rat count is not one of them. The local politicians constantly talk about the rat plague too.
I live in rural Fife - effectively in the middle of a farm. We get mice in the house in October or so when it starts getting colder - never seen a rat here. Oddly I've never seen a fox here although I used to see them all the time when we lived in central Edinburgh.
I fail to see how ordinary brick can accommodate bird nest inside, it's way too small and the brick in the article is way too big, seem almost like double depth, so how can this be used actually without disrupting design?
The bricks extend into the cavity region behind the brickwork. Here, pretty much all homes have a gap between the brickwork and the structure to prevent moisture transfer (although in recent-ish history firms have done cavity insulation, which often has negative consequences as done poorly can result in quite extensive damp and mold).
I would think the cavity will be filled with insulation and if you remove it and install there this empty brick you will be leaking heat through this place which will be significantly coolder/noisier.
The article image showed it install high on the wall, in what would be the attic. And there are alternate designs that are normal depth, but multiple bricks tall and wide.
If there were tax incentives for this instead of it being mandatory I'd support it wholeheartedly, but the idea of people being forced to directly attract and accommodate animals to/on their property under threat of punishment is unnerving to me. It's a completely different thing to being made to leave an existing den or nest alone.
I think it would be fun for wildlife to have their own barrister to bring lawsuits against people like you for destroying what was otherwise their native grounds before us meat viruses spread wanton destruction everywhere. The fact is you can't leave 'existing' alone, there is none. In countries like the UK the place has been completely and totally terraformed by people.
As I found the article did a poor job of demonstrating what a swift brick is, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_brick
I opened the article without a clue about what they were. Within my first 5-10 s on it I knew what they were.
Literally right below the title:
> bricks that provide nesting for swifts and other endangered birds
And a picture.
It has two very clear pictures at the top...?
There's a picture of a box with a bunch of playing cards on top of it, then a picture of a building that has one. I found it insufficient and thought others might too.
There's a picture of the brick, you mean.
That was not clear to me. Dunno why people are making such a big deal out of "if you want more info, go here."
In the ideal world that would be a good idea, but in the real world with severe housing shortages, not enough house building it is not in my opinion
[delayed]
In the US bird populations are down 30% since the 70s (with many species seeing much more significant declines) and you see similar trends in many other countries. You'll probably see a lot more of these sorts of conservation efforts as people start to realize how dire things are ecologically.
Source for decline number: https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aaw1313
I also know the numbers are similarly dire across the animal kingdom. At least birds aren't doing as poorly as amphibians where 40% of species are threatened (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10567568/)
Cool project! My folks get Cliff Swallows nesting under the eaves above their door in central Texas and they make a huge mess. I wish we could encourage them to nest on the side of the house with some bespoke bricks, but they enjoy the doorway.
We had chimney swifts growing up. They were bastards who built nests that would just absolutely clog the chimney. But it was neat to watch them circle and drop into the chimney by the dozens right before dark.
One of my best memories is my grandfather cussing loudly down the chimney in the fall as he cleaned out their nests. It just echoed through the house from the stove.
I am frustrated by this article.
1. Why focus on Swifts as opposed to any other species in decline? They state that they are "iconic", so maybe that's the answer? Are they more "iconic" than any other specifies in Scotland?
2. Why are these bricks the best solution? Why not take that money that would be spent on bricks and instead preserve land, or just build them dedicated houses elsewhere?
3. Why does this need to be done via government mandate versus voluntarily asking people to build Swift housing in existing buildings or land?
I'm worried that this is a government policy with great intentions that will result in economic costs with unmeasured benefits and bureaucratic bloat. Hopefully I am proven wrong!
The article focuses on swifts because it's about swift bricks, a cheap and practical answer to helping the declining swift population.
But don't worry, there are plenty of other initiatives elsewhere across Scotland and the UK helping other species of birds, seeing as you're clearly interested in this subject.
It's weird to see starlings listed as endangered. We seem to have no shortage of the darn things in the US.
"Starlings declined by 57% between 1995 and 2023 and they now feature on the Red List of birds of high conservation concern."
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/starling
Do they not have mice and rats there? This looks like a place those creatures would nest long before a bird got to it.
I live close to the most populous city in Scotland (Glasgow), and even only 6mile (10km) out of the city there is extensive greenery. Rats and mice are very uncommon here. They are rarely seen in the city, and I live close to very large fields and open countryside.
1. These bricks are normally installed close to the roof, under the guttering. 2. If anything, the main rodent of concern would be squirrels...but they will nest in the gutters anyway so having a sealed metal box with a very small opening is likely better anyway.
> They are rarely seen in the city
Rats and mice are ridiculously common in central Glasgow, its plagued the city for years to the point many argue its a public health crisis. While sure the suburbs might be better, I've never once seen someone describe Glasgow and rats being uncommon in the same sentence. I literally can't visit Glasgow without seeing an enormous rat in the street 5 minutes after arriving.
There are loads of nice things I will say about Glasgow - I lived there for decades. Being low on the rat count is not one of them. The local politicians constantly talk about the rat plague too.
> https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/rats-plague-...
> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-66732675
> https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgow-rat-...
> https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/probe-finds...
I hear glasgow rats attack foxes
I live in rural Fife - effectively in the middle of a farm. We get mice in the house in October or so when it starts getting colder - never seen a rat here. Oddly I've never seen a fox here although I used to see them all the time when we lived in central Edinburgh.
Not at the top of a wall, no.
I’ve seen them scale brick walls at my house.
Can mice scale vertical walls?
Yes, they can easily climb rough brick walls. A youtube search will provide many examples.
Vertical walls made of brick? Yes. I’ve seen it at my own house.
I fail to see how ordinary brick can accommodate bird nest inside, it's way too small and the brick in the article is way too big, seem almost like double depth, so how can this be used actually without disrupting design?
The bricks extend into the cavity region behind the brickwork. Here, pretty much all homes have a gap between the brickwork and the structure to prevent moisture transfer (although in recent-ish history firms have done cavity insulation, which often has negative consequences as done poorly can result in quite extensive damp and mold).
I would think the cavity will be filled with insulation and if you remove it and install there this empty brick you will be leaking heat through this place which will be significantly coolder/noisier.
The article image showed it install high on the wall, in what would be the attic. And there are alternate designs that are normal depth, but multiple bricks tall and wide.
Swift bricks are a fully enclosed unit (other than the hole on the outside)
If there were tax incentives for this instead of it being mandatory I'd support it wholeheartedly, but the idea of people being forced to directly attract and accommodate animals to/on their property under threat of punishment is unnerving to me. It's a completely different thing to being made to leave an existing den or nest alone.
I think it would be fun for wildlife to have their own barrister to bring lawsuits against people like you for destroying what was otherwise their native grounds before us meat viruses spread wanton destruction everywhere. The fact is you can't leave 'existing' alone, there is none. In countries like the UK the place has been completely and totally terraformed by people.