Kilmore Care of Creation have worked alongside local partners for several months, and their teamwork paid off recently as they installed twelve swift boxes and three callers throughout Cavan Town. Six swift boxes were installed at St Felim’s National School, Cavan, three at Urney Church of Ireland, Cavan and a further three at the Cathedral of Saints Patrick & Felim, Cavan.
We thank Naomi Mitten (Biodiversity Officer at the Cavan Heritage Office), and Birdwatch Ireland (Cavan Branch) members, Liz McKenna and Suzanne Kelly for their support and advice in bringing this project to fruition. We would also like to thank everyone involved who helped out throughout the entire process. It’s inspiring to see people work hard to protect the natural world.
As Irish summers end and autumn approaches, most swifts will have already left Ireland and be heading back to their wintering grounds in Africa. Swifts eat on the wing. The flying insect population drops sharply at this time, leaving no food for them to survive here. Swifts spend almost their entire lives flying on the wing. They only land during the short summer months to build their nests, lay their eggs and raise their chicks. Once their young fledglings can fly and fend for themselves, their parents purpose in Ireland is fulfilled. They migrate back to sub-Saharan Africa where they track continuous warm weather and stable insect supplies across the world. We look forward to their return in late April to early May next year.
Cathedral of Saints Patrick & Felim Cavan: 3 Swift Box Installations and 1 Solar Powered Swift Caller
St. Felim’s National School, Cavan: 6 Swift Box Installations and 1 Electronic Swift Caller
Urney Church of Ireland, Cavan: 3 Swift Box Installations and 1 Solar Powered Swift Caller
Further Reading:
Birdwatch Ireland local studies: West Cavan Swift Survey (Adcock. T, Taylor. H., and Caffrey, B., 2025) and East Cavan Swift Survey (Finney. K and Birtwistle. A, 2024).
