Evening Talk: Swifts – The Bird that You can Help! by Edward Mayer

Edward Mayer of Swift Conservation will be talking about Swifts, those most spectacular and charismatic urban birds, their sad decline and what every one of us can do about it. A keen birdwatcher since he was a child, Edward has devoted the past 20 years since retiring from his job at the Tate Gallery to working for Swifts, having noticed that the Swifts in his local population in London were declining rapidly. He designed and set up a website www.swift-conservation.org providing a wealth of information and conservation guidance, and then set about giving talks with the aim of inspiring people to set up local groups to assist Swifts both here in the UK and in Europe too. The results have been surprising and very gratifying, and he will tell us about them in this richly illustrated talk, which also doubles as a training class in how to help Swifts yourself. Edward will also be answering your questions about Swifts and how to help them, and pointing out where you can see them in Grantown on Spey, where the local Swift population is still in a very good state, some of them actually nesting in the Grant Arms own roof.