Swift conservation depends on accurate knowledge of colony locations, which is gathered through citizen science surveys coordinated by RSPB Swift Conservation and local swift groups. Colony monitoring enables protection of nest sites during building renovation.
Swift colonies that are unmapped cannot be protected from building renovation that would eliminate nest sites. Citizen science mapping directly enables the planning protections that prevent nest site destruction. Each mapped colony is a welfare resource for the pairs currently breeding there and for future generations of swifts that would reuse the same sites for decades. The welfare benefit of survey effort compounds over many breeding seasons as protected sites remain accessible.