International swifts conferences are meetings where ornithologists dedicated to the study or conservation of these birds meet to share their most recent work. And it is precisely next year's event that we write about, since the host city has recently been announced. After last year it was close to us, in Segovia (Spain), the next edition is scheduled for Trieste, in the north of Italy! When it will be in Portugal? How about Mértola 2026 or Évora 2028? Let's do it!
As soon as they heard that the Macarena wall in Seville (Spain) was to be restored, Ecourbe, a Spanish environmental NGO based in the same city, contacted the town planning department to ask them to take into account the important nesting colony of swifts there.
As a result of these contacts, the association managed not only to safeguard the conservation of the nests, but also to establish a protocol that defines the characteristics of the cavities and the entrances so that nesting conditions can be improved.
ECOURBE, congratulations and thank you very much for your effort!
The decline in swallow, martin and swift populations is, among other reasons, related to the decline of the invertebrate populations on which they feed. A report on the state of butterfly populations in the UK was recently published and the results are disheartening: 80% of species are less abundant and their range has shrunk. Although butterflies are not the most common prey for swallows, martins and swifts, this group highlights what is happening to insects across Europe.
In our country, unfortunately we have no data that allows us to say what is happening to butterflies. In Portugal, 2023 will be the fifth year in which a concerted effort is being made to monitor butterflies, with around 80 sites being sampled, thanks to Tagis - Portuguese Butterfly Conservation Centre and all those who have joined in with this initiative. It is a commendable effort, but still insufficient and incomparable with what is done in other countries.
Preserving swallows, martins and swifts must also include preserving the insects on which they feed. For this it is necessary to promote land uses that benefit invertebrates and biodiversity in general and to stop the widespread use of chemicals, especially insecticides!
