BirdWatch Ireland was contracted to undertake a survey of the swift population in the county in the summer of 2018. Swifts are a migratory bird that are of significant conservation concern in Ireland and elsewhere. The survey was funded by the Westmeath Heritage Office with help from the Heritage Council and the Local Agenda 21 Fund. Anton Krastev and/or Ricky Whelan from BirdWatch Ireland carried out the survey. They surveyed localities for nesting swifts and found nesting swifts in roughly 1/3 of localities monitored.
In the autumn of 2018, BirdWatch Ireland compiled a final report as part of the project. The report lists all the areas surveyed and sets out in great detail the sites of each nest site found.
A number of follow up actions have taken place and more are planned for the coming months and years and BirdWatch Ireland, with its Westmeath branch volunteers, is committed to working with Westmeath County Council and local stakeholders to ensure nesting swifts have a future in Westmeath.