Common swifts are declining rapidly as traditional nesting sites in old buildings are lost to renovation and new development, making swift conservation an important urban wildlife welfare priority.
Swift welfare is primarily a habitat availability issue — without nest sites, swifts cannot breed and populations decline. Individual welfare is compromised when nest sites are destroyed during renovation without mitigation, stranding birds who have returned from their African winter quarters to find their breeding site gone. The welfare value of providing swift bricks and boxes in new and renovated buildings is high relative to cost — a swift pair raising two chicks successfully represents a significant welfare positive outcome per pound spent. Planning requirements for swift nest provision in new development are increasingly common and represent effective welfare-linked policy.