Swift Tower, new home erected at CEMEX asphalt plant

A new home for swifts, a swift tower, has been erected at CEMEX’s busy asphalt plant in Hope Street, Manchester to encourage this charismatic bird to come and nest. Over the coming weeks, swifts will be returning to our towns and cities and are a quintessential sign of the British summer.

Swifts are the perfect house guest. They are only in the UK for three months of the year, make no mess when nesting and help get rid of flying insects and mosquitoes. Sadly, their numbers have been rapidly declining, due in part it is thought, to the lack of homes in our urban environments.

The new swift tower at the plant could help provide a home for up to 12 swifts. Standing approximately 2.5 metres high, close to the weighbridge the new tower incorporates a ‘caller’, a pre-recorded sound of a swift’s call that plays at dusk and dawn to encourage new occupants to move in.

“I’m sure our new tower will be a great home for any swifts coming to Manchester and hopefully over the coming years, they will make our plant their UK destination. There’s nothing like seeing and hearing swifts soar over rooftops on a summer’s evening. They are amazing birds and one of the fastest flying birds in the world,” comments Phil Repton, Hope Street plant manager.

CEMEX is working in partnership with the RSPB to increase the biodiversity of its 400+ sites. The introduction of the swift tower is one of the measures to help give nature a home.

Rebecca Pitman, RSPB Swift Cities Project Officer says “The swift is truly an urban bird and sadly they have declined by an alarming 47% between 1995–2014. They are now an amber-listed species on the list of Birds of Conservation Concern.

“When they arrive back in the UK from Africa they return to the exact same location year after year. Swifts like to nest in the rooftops of old buildings but developments and renovations often destroy suitable sites. The new CEMEX tower can offer this great bird a great home,” Rebecca concludes.