Conservation Officer (Swift Casework Volunteer - Glasgow)

Swifts are wonderful birds, loved by the public and a herald of summer. They are such adept fliers that they eat, sleep and mate on the wing, landing only to nest. Swifts return to the UK in early May and generally leave by mid-August each year. Tragically, swift numbers in the UK have declined by 57% in less than 30 years, it is thought in part due to the loss of suitable nest sites. In 2021 Swifts were added to the Birds of Conservation Concern 5 Red List.

Your help is needed to protect swift colonies in Glasgow.

An important part of this role is being an advocate for Swifts. You will receive training to help you protect existing Swift nests and identify opportunities for the installation of Swift nesting bricks in new developments, or Swift nest boxes during building renovation work.

During the Swift season there may be opportunities to help monitor known nesting locations and identify new colonies. Your data will help inform the science behind our work. This science contributes to planning casework, informs policy decisions, helps to engage with communities and influence external organisations.

This role will vary depending on the landscape you are working within in and the needs of the Area team but may include: • Contributing to planning Casework, Policy and Advocacy (All year - a few hours per month). • Surveying swifts during set times of the year (May to August). • Helping to map swift nest sites using the Swift Mapper app. • Engagement and SNTP. • Administration.

It will require some key general skills, but please note that we will offer training and induction into this particular area of the RSPB. You may need some experience in the area depending on what it is. • IT skills, creating documents, managing spreadsheets, submitting records. • Excellent communication skills for engaging with different audiences, internal and external to the RSPB. • Organisational skills. • Basic bird identification skills (training in Swift ID will be provided) • Ability to work independently, or possibly in a small team.

This role provides the chance to develop hands-on experience and skills around species protection. We will offer training and induction to ensure that you are prepared for the specific needs for each landscape.

You will be contributing to our Priority Species work programme, so we are able to better protect these species long into the future. We like to think we're a friendly and welcoming team, so you'll have the opportunity to make new friends too.