This is as much about the community of swift conservationists as it is about the birds, if not more. We were contacted by Jo Loyn in autumn 2025 whose husband Roger McIlroy had recently passed away. Jo wanted to support the project through the donations offered at Roger’s funeral. Roger was a keen swift watcher and loved swifts, keeping dates of their arrivals each year above the house near Plymouth. We suggested the donations be used to fund a church installation near Plymouth as Roger and Jo also visited churches in the area, recommended from their church guide.
Well, we hadn’t had any interest from churches in Plymouth so after committing to the pledge, we realised that we needed to get to work securing a worthy location for Roger and Jo. As if it was destined, we had an enquiry from Janet Donovan, the PCC’s Green Rep from Tamerton Foliot, St. Mary’s soon after, and the wheels were in motion. Janet, Reverend Gerda, and the church community are so keen to support wildlife conservation, so our proposal was easy to process.
During the design of the nestboxes, we suggested to Jo that we could create a memorial plaque, which she agreed to. As did Janet, who donated and requested something similar for her dearly departed friend Margaret Sparshott, who passed away in April 2025. A real privelege for us to be able to honour departed loved ones. Swifts bring so much joy and it’s lovely to think that people will be remembered on beautiful summer’s evenings when we hear and see the whirling screaming swift parties gathering overhead.
Janet and Reverend Gerda.
The view from the lou(vre).
Swifts eye view over the village.
Roger 1949-2025