Residents of the Ballynure and Straid districts are being encouraged to be part of a successful wildlife initiative to help a declining bird species.

This is the third year the Homes for Swifts project has been operated in the Ballyclare area, organised by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Antrim Local Group.

Following successful projects in Parkgate and Ballyclare, the initiative is now moving into Ballynure and Straid.

Through the initiative, local residents, organisations and businesses are given free swift nest boxes and can borrow swift caller systems which are needed to attract swifts to the new nest boxes.

The swift was named Bird of the Borough in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council in 2015 and since then work by both the bird club and the council has aimed to help this fast-declining species.

A dramatic reduction of 66 percent in the number of breeding swifts has been recorded in the UK in the last 30 years, resulting in the swift being added to the Red List in the 2021 UK Conservation Status Report.

The RSPB says reasons behind this loss are complex, but providing suitable nesting sites and ensuring that there are plenty of insects for them to feed on can help.

There will be two public meetings to encourage local people to get involved. The first will be in Ballynure Presbyterian Church Hall on Tuesday, March 3 at 7.30pm, when the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Julie Gilmour, will launch Homes for Swifts 2026. The second meeting will take place in Straid Orange Hall on Wednesday, March 4 at 7.30pm.

The RSPB Antrim Local Group Homes for Swifts project is being set up in Ballynure and Straid. Picture: supplied by RSPB

placeholder image — The RSPB Antrim Local Group Homes for Swifts project is being set up in Ballynure and Straid. Picture: supplied by RSPB

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A warm invitation is extended to local people to attend either meeting, at which there will be information about swifts, their unusual lifestyle and habits, along with details of the difficulties they face when looking for a nest site.

Bird club members, people who have swifts nesting at their houses and those who have received swift boxes through this project in previous years will be in attendance to speak to.

Samples of the swift nest boxes will be on display and there will be the opportunity to hear the caller system in action.

Members of the public will also be able to ask questions about the project.