New Houses Won't Have to Have 'Swift Bricks'
Discussion
I'd not heard of 'swift bricks', prior to reading the following: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/labour-block... but there has been a campaign to make fitting the things to all new-build houses mandatory.
It rather strikes me as one of those cases where some earnest people were given the hard-sell by whoever makes 'swift bricks', decided that the hard-sell was convincing enough to want to make the things compulsory and then drummed up enough internet interest to have the business talked about in parliament.
The real issue with 'swift bricks' is that inside, they look like this:
If one were actually used by nesting birds, it would swiftly become choked with filth: bird dirt, feathers, regurgitated material and so on. I really wouldn't want a lunchbox full of guano projecting through my bedroom wall, for example. It's unhygienic and also, possibly, bad for the birds; if one, for example, were to break through the back of the nesting box (inevitable, as plastic exposed to the elements goes brittle), it would then be trapped in the house. There's also the rather hideous prospect of rear-mounted ventilation, which means that one could smell the contents of the box from the building side.
Scientists have, apparently, raised similar concerns about 'bee bricks' - same idea for Hymenoptera - in that they are thought to be unsanitary.
This isn't an argument against nesting boxes and the like, I just think it's better to have something that can be taken down and cleaned, and which doesn't breach the wall of the house.
Good decision by the Government, perhaps.
It rather strikes me as one of those cases where some earnest people were given the hard-sell by whoever makes 'swift bricks', decided that the hard-sell was convincing enough to want to make the things compulsory and then drummed up enough internet interest to have the business talked about in parliament.
The real issue with 'swift bricks' is that inside, they look like this:
If one were actually used by nesting birds, it would swiftly become choked with filth: bird dirt, feathers, regurgitated material and so on. I really wouldn't want a lunchbox full of guano projecting through my bedroom wall, for example. It's unhygienic and also, possibly, bad for the birds; if one, for example, were to break through the back of the nesting box (inevitable, as plastic exposed to the elements goes brittle), it would then be trapped in the house. There's also the rather hideous prospect of rear-mounted ventilation, which means that one could smell the contents of the box from the building side.
Scientists have, apparently, raised similar concerns about 'bee bricks' - same idea for Hymenoptera - in that they are thought to be unsanitary.
This isn't an argument against nesting boxes and the like, I just think it's better to have something that can be taken down and cleaned, and which doesn't breach the wall of the house.
Good decision by the Government, perhaps.
Isn't the lack of birds more due to a lack of what birds like to eat, namely insects; the UK having its biodiversity denuded through monoculture, grubbing up hedgerows, wanton use of chemical warfare, etc all have far more effect than whether humans have or have not provided a nest box? My parents put a bird box up on their shed about 20 years ago, it only received its first occupants this year despite the garden having plenty of birdlife in the intervening 2 decades.
hidetheelephants said:
Isn't the lack of birds more due to a lack of what birds like to eat, namely insects; the UK having its biodiversity denuded through monoculture, grubbing up hedgerows, wanton use of chemical warfare, etc all have far more effect than whether humans have or have not provided a nest box? My parents put a bird box up on their shed about 20 years ago, it only received its first occupants this year despite the garden having plenty of birdlife in the intervening 2 decades.
Exactly. People are quick to blame anything other than our own changes to farming practices. Same as when people blame domestic cats.Missy Charm said:
If one were actually used by nesting birds, it would swiftly become choked with filth: bird dirt, feathers, regurgitated material and so on. I really wouldn't want a lunchbox full of guano projecting through my bedroom wall, for example. It's unhygienic and also, possibly, bad for the birds; if one, for example, were to break through the back of the nesting box (inevitable, as plastic exposed to the elements goes brittle), it would then be trapped in the house. There's also the rather hideous prospect of rear-mounted ventilation, which means that one could smell the contents of the box from the building side.
This isn't an argument against nesting boxes and the like, I just think it's better to have something that can be taken down and cleaned, and which doesn't breach the wall of the house.
Good decision by the Government, perhaps.
Swifts and similar deep cavity nesting species are very clean birds. They don't defecate in their nests and they clean up after their offspring. The bricks therefore don't require cleaning out and the plastic lasts as long as other exposed plastics used in the fabric of modern buildings.This isn't an argument against nesting boxes and the like, I just think it's better to have something that can be taken down and cleaned, and which doesn't breach the wall of the house.
Good decision by the Government, perhaps.
It seems slightly hysterical to imagine that the swifts are going to break through a plastic box that's protected from the elements, tunnel through the inner masonry leaf and plaster and invade your house.
This seems like pretty much a no-brainer, so not at all surprised Labour have rejected it with their ongoing fear of being seen to actually change anything.
This seems like pretty much a no-brainer, so not at all surprised Labour have rejected it with their ongoing fear of being seen to actually change anything.
How strange, I often accompany MrsVS on her photography outings and today she was taking pictures of birds, while we were out we chatted to a fellow 'twitcher' while watching the swifts whizzing around who is conducting a survey of said swift boxes either for or through a university. I wasn't really paying attention but one thing he told us is that it is on average 10 years at least before the boxes are used.
It seems like a win, win to me no cost to the government and helping the environment. They have gone from supporting the Tories on it to being against now, no doubt Labour have taken money off a developer or 2. Mind you they do have form for saying one thing before an election and then doing the exact opposite afterwards. Amusing that the Guardian are trying to link it to woke and Reform though, they really do not know the voters they think they are denigrating, especially as Richard Tice is one of the MPs who has signed the petition to make it law.
It seems like a win, win to me no cost to the government and helping the environment. They have gone from supporting the Tories on it to being against now, no doubt Labour have taken money off a developer or 2. Mind you they do have form for saying one thing before an election and then doing the exact opposite afterwards. Amusing that the Guardian are trying to link it to woke and Reform though, they really do not know the voters they think they are denigrating, especially as Richard Tice is one of the MPs who has signed the petition to make it law.
Edited by Vanden Saab on Saturday 24th May 01:09
hidetheelephants said:
Isn't the lack of birds more due to a lack of what birds like to eat, namely insects; the UK having its biodiversity denuded through monoculture, grubbing up hedgerows, wanton use of chemical warfare, etc all have far more effect than whether humans have or have not provided a nest box? My parents put a bird box up on their shed about 20 years ago, it only received its first occupants this year despite the garden having plenty of birdlife in the intervening 2 decades.
It can (and is in the case of hirundines) both an issue of less food availability and nesting opportunities. It doesn't have to be one or the other after all. Unfortunately, and entirely as expected given it was a pretty simple ask with little or no cost to anyone that could actually do a lot of good longer term to perhaps help some of the problems that we are causing, the government has obviously seen fit to refuse to do this....
Feels like a missed opportunity.
The idea that the birds will cause health problems or invade houses is nonsense.
https://group.rspb.org.uk/belfast/news-blogs/blog/...
The idea that the birds will cause health problems or invade houses is nonsense.
https://group.rspb.org.uk/belfast/news-blogs/blog/...
mac96 said:
hidetheelephants said:
Isn't the lack of birds more due to a lack of what birds like to eat, namely insects; the UK having its biodiversity denuded through monoculture, grubbing up hedgerows, wanton use of chemical warfare, etc all have far more effect than whether humans have or have not provided a nest box? My parents put a bird box up on their shed about 20 years ago, it only received its first occupants this year despite the garden having plenty of birdlife in the intervening 2 decades.
Exactly. People are quick to blame anything other than our own changes to farming practices. Same as when people blame domestic cats.Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff